Before My Eyes: Duelist Kingdom
by Richard Tsunami
Summary: My name is Richard Tsunami and I hate my last name. Follow my journey in Duelist Kingdom as I try to become the new King of Games. Inspired by DarkQueenofDuels' Bonded series. OC x Rebecca.
1. Journey to the Duelist Kingdom

**Hi, everyone! This fanfiction is inspired by DarkQueenofDuels and it's the course of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! series written by an OC's POV. Hope you like it!**

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><p>My name is Richard Tsunami and I hate my last name. I really do! All right, let me tell you the story from the start.<p>

Since five years ago, when I was seven, I've lived inside an orphanage. There I met Seto and Mokuba, who now run KaibaCorp, and Yako and Gekko Tenma, who I can consider my best friends inside that place.

But my happiness faded when Maximillion Pegasus adopted the Tenma brothers six years ago and left me alone. Seto and Mokuba were almost all of the time by themselves and hardly talked to anybody. I tried to approach them a few times, but Mokuba was too shy and Seto was... well, himself. He didn't change a lot since then, even though I know that he at least knew how to smile during those years.

When they got adopted by Gozaburo, luck started to knock at my door as well. After a few weeks a guy named Mr. Tsunami adopted me and, since then, I had a family. I didn't know he had another son, who's called Mako, but it did go quite ok with him.

Then our father disappeared, the only thing left to us was two Duel Monsters cards: for Mako Sea Stealth 2 – A Legendary Fisherman and for me Levia-Dragon – Daedalus. Since neither of us knew how to mantan ourselves we had an idea: we'd compete in Duel Monsters Tournaments and use the money to mantain both of us.

And here's where some annoying stuff started to happen: you see, Mako is a very stubborn guy and, when I told him to change his deck a bit, we started to argue. Let me explain. Both me and Mako use decks composed of sea creatures, but there's a large difference between us: while I use a WATER Deck filled with various creatures, he only uses Fish-Type Monsters, which are indeed strong since I run some of those as well in my deck, but aren't strong enough to stand up by themselves.

"You should use something else as well" I suggested him after another loss he had against me "As you saw I play Fish-Types, but I do also have Reptiles, Sea Serpents and Aqua-Types. I even got a couple of Spellcasters and Thunder-Types"

"But that's the difference between you and me" he answered "I don't need to trust fake creatures of the sea to win like you do"

"Are you calling my monsters 'fake'?" I asked starting to get angry "Who's the one that thrashed you for the past few weeks while play-testing?"

"It's like cheating" he answered "If you want to be a master of the sea, you must trust the real creatures that inhabit it, not cheap creatures like yours. Your monsters don't even deserve a place in the food chain"

"Oh, is that so?" I said getting up "Fine, I'm outta here. You take care by yourself"

He laughed, which made me more mad. "What are you going to do? You're only 10!"

"I'll promise you, 'brother'" I said to him emphasizing the word 'brother' "I'll became more powerful. Then we'll see who's the real best between us. You may be older than me, but you need to learn too much about Duel Monsters"

After that experience, I started to travel around the world, taking part of what are known as 'underground duels'. For those of you who don't know what underground duels are, they're unofficial tournaments that are held by Duelists that seek for fame in order to be noticed by some sponsors that can open your roads to official tournaments. Duelists like me. The winner of the duels gets the title of Underground King and gets some money as a reward, which allowed me to pay food and rooms for resting.

I've been Underground King for a year, since something happened.

After another tournament I met a guy who told me something that changed my life since then: "Would you like to rise up more? To be more than just the Underground King, but even the National Champion?"

Since then I attented a few tournaments and won almost all of the times, the title of Underground King preceding me. In my last tournament I've lost in the finals after going against a girl named Rebecca Hawkins. I had the edge of the duel but then I decided to give up. She doesn't know but I have a little crush on her. She's the same age as me and she's very smart. But enough talking about her for the moment.

In this exact moment I'm on a boat. How did I get here, you may ask. Well, a week ago I received a package containing a glove, two little stars, two cards and a note singned by the creator of Duel Monsters himself Maximillion Pegasus: he wanted me in a tournament held by himself on his island, the title of Duel King and a great amount of money as a reward.

I, of course accepted, and now I'm here on the boat heading to Duelist Kingdom.

At the moment I'm walking in the 'trading area', as I called it. I was one of the lucky Duelists that had their own room, but it's kinda boring being in your room after a while. Anyway, I call this the 'trading area' because there're lots of Duelists that are trading their cards with other Duelists in order to strengthen their decks. Inside this chaos I see a blonde guy with a green jacket that is trading with lots of people, which makes me chucke a little. The guy then walks out and I see him with a boy with a very weird haircut and a pyramid-like pendant. Wait a minute! Isn't that the guy who defeated Kaiba?!

I approach him and I say: "Hi, you're Yugi Muto, right?"

The boy chuckles. "Yeah, that's me. Do I know you?"

I chuckle as well. "No, I don't think so. I've noticed you when your friend here came before you. I'm Richard by the way"

Yugi shakes my hand.

"Wait a minute!" says the blonde guy. I notice he has a Brooklyn accent. "Are you da Undaground King?"

I nod. "That's me"

"Really?" Yugi says "I remember now! I saw some of your tournaments! I assume you're here to participate in the Duelist Kingdom Tournament, right?"

"Yup" I answer "I'm a traveller, so a few money could help me"

"Hey, hold on a sec!" the blonde guy says "I saw the last Duel Monstas tournament. Why ya weren't there?"

"What is your name?" I ask.

"Joey. Joey Wheeler"

"Well, Joey Wheeler, I didn't go there because I was sick in that period. Hey, it happens"

"Yeah, I know" he answers chuckling.

The truth is that my brother was participating in that tournament, but I want to hold the grudge a little more. After all, I do know my brother is participating in Duelist Kingdom, so it's my duty to take him out before he advances more than he has to.

"Oh, Richard?" Yugi asks interrupting my thoughts "I saw your dueling and I know you play a WATER Deck"

"That's right" I answer.

"So, I would like to give you this"

He hands me a card: Great White. "Why would you give me this card?"

"Because we're friends"

"What?"

"Well, you seem to be a nice guy. It's ok with you if we become friends?"

I stand still for a moment. I've never had friends during my journey. I didn't even kept in touch with the Kaiba brothers or the Tenma brothers. It would be really meaningful to me to have some support.

"Yes, it's ok" I answer with a smile.

"Awesome!" Joey says "The Underground King is our friend!"

"That's very childish, Joey" Yugi says sweatdropping.

I chuckle at this: those two are really funny.

"Well, time for me to go to my room. I would like to rest a little"

"No problem" Yugi says.

"See ya!" Joey says.

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><p>The room is quite comfortable. I look through my cards and see if I can make a few good combinations. I heard that in Duelist Kingdom there will be some kind of new fields, which will power up the right monsters. I must see which monsters I've got are good in those fields.<p>

Suddently I hear knocking at my door. I go open and I see before me a twenty-year old blonde girl with a white shirt and purple skirt. The thing that surprised more though, was the huge side of breasts this girl had: they were VERY big! I'm not a pervert or anything, I was just astonished.

"Can I help you with something?" I ask politely after I recovered from the surprise.

"My name is Mai Valentine and I would like to have this little room of yours" the girl answers.

"Yeah, like I'll give you my room like that"

"Don't worry, I won't get it from you by force" she says "Let's have a little duel. Whoever wins gets the room"

"If that's what you want I'm ok with it. I was getting bored anyway"

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Mai 2000**

"I'll go first" I say drawing my card "I Summon Tongyo in Attack Mode!"

The monster I placed on the field (which in this case was the table of my room) was a blue fish with a long tongue sticking out of his mouth (ATK: 1350).

"It's my turn then" Mai says drawing her card "I Summon Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!"

Her card was exactly what the name suggested: a harpie (ATK: 1300).

"That monster is too weak to beat my Tongyo"

"Don't worry, I still have my Rose Whip Magic Card"

"An Equip Magic Card?!"

"That's right. This card gives my Harpie 300 more points, so your monster is destroyed"

I put my monster in the Graveyard as my Life Points go down.

**LP Richard 1750**

**LP Mai 2000**

Even though I am pretty uncomfortable with the situation that had been created, I maintain my poker face. "I Set a monster and end my turn"

Mai draws her card. "For my turn I Equip Harpie Lady with Cyber Shield, givig her 500 more points"

"_Now she has 2100 attack points! It will be hard to take down_"

"Harpie Lady attacks your Set monster"

My monster, which is Takriminos, gets destroyed because it had only 1200 defense power and Mai ends her turn. I draw my own card. "I Summon Boulder Tortoise in Defense Mode!"

My monster had 2200 defense points, so her Harpie Lady cannot damage me.

"For my turn I activate the Magic Card Elegant Egotist!" declares Mai "With it my Harpie Lady turns into three monsters: the Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Now I got her strategy! She continuously powers up Harpie Lady and doesn't have any other monsters in her deck! Since Duel Monsters rules says that a player loses if he can't play any cards, I just need to destroy her Harpie Lady and I'll win the duel!

I draw my card and I smirk. "Mai Valentine, this room is mine and will still be mine" I say "I activate the Magic Card Magical Neutralizing Force Field!"

"Oh no!"

"This card cancels any magic effect on your field, meaning your two other Harpie Ladies disappear along with Electro Whip and Cyber Shield, leaving my Boulder Tortoise, which has 1450 attack points, free way to attack your monster!"

"Oh no! I lost!"

"That's right! Now get lost!"

She gets out of the room grunting and I see her for a second entering inside another room. Is that Rex Raptor's?

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><p><strong>Did you like it? I hope you do. Personally I like a lot Duelist Kingdom because the rules are kinda messed up and anyone can do almost everything they want. I'll try to do the next chapter as fast as possible. Until then, hasta la vista!<strong>


	2. My first Duel

**The following takes place during **_**Into the Hornet's Nest**_** and **_**The Ultimate Great Moth**_**.**

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><p>Finally, the boat has arrived to Duelist Kingdom! I just couldn't wait! I finally go out, show my Dueling Glove to that weird hairy guy that stands before me (oh my God, how can he hold his hair like that?!) and then I went in front of Pegasus's castle, when a crowd of Duelists stands.<p>

"Greetings Duelists, I am Maximillion Pegasus!" says Pegasus, who stands up on the castle's balconade "It is my pleasure to welcome you all to the Duelist Kingdom. You stand before me as the world's greatest Duelists, but come Tournament end, only one should become King of Games"

As he says this, I look at my Deck, Levia-Dragon – Daedalus on top of it.

"I employ you to assemble your dueling Decks with care, with creativity and with cunning, for this competition will test your skills like never before" Pegasus continues "To track your progress in the Tournament you've each been given a Dueling Glove; you've also given two precious Star Chips: you must wager these Star Chips on each Duel you compete in. To advance to the final level of competition for a chance of a 3 million dollars prize, you must win 10 Star Chips: 10 Star Chips will admit you into my castle, when you'll face me in a final Duel"

So I'll just need to win only 8 more Star Chips, huh? Easy task. I'll leave Yugi for last, for I want to face him during the finals inside the castle.

"This will be a Tournament unlike anything you've ever exerienced!" Pegasus says with joy "Dueling Arenas cover this entire island and intriguing new Dueling rules will be in effect! I could tell you what these rules are, but what fun would that be? You'll discover them as you compete or you won't last very long. Remember: play baldly, think strategically and Duel mercilessly! You have one full hour to prepare, both your cards and yourselves: when the skies light up with fireworks, the Duels will begin!"

The crowd cheers as Pegasus enters inside the castle.

As a few Duelists go away to visit the island, I approach Yugi. "So..." I say "Are you ready?"

"You bet I am!" he answers.

"Perfect, but let me clear something" I tell him as my face becomes serious "Even though we're friends now, there will be a time when both of us will be facing"

As I see him turning serious as well, I continue. "Because of this, we'll take different paths, so that nobody slows down anybody. But I want to make a promise with you: as we reach both 10 Star Chips, we'll fight each other in Pegasus's castle. Do you promise me this?"

I then stretch out my hand. He stays silent for a second and then shakes it smiling. "I promise"

"Very well" I answer smiling "I'll see you there, then"

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><p>It had been almost an hour since I left Yugi and his gang, that I realize that the other guys' names are Tea and Tristan. When does the fireworks start? Oh, here they are. I can start kicking someone's butt. But where can I go? I could easily go into the Sea Field and wait there... nah, it's to obvious! Also, who goes there randomly, but me and... my brother! Of course! Not now, though: I first want to have a little warm up as I get the hang of these 'new rules' Pegasus was talking about.<p>

As I make up my thoughts I see a guy with brown hair dressed in a white shirt, yellow jeans and blue jacket. He also has a red bandana that covers his forehead.

"Hey you!" I say as I look at him "Wanna duel?"

"You... you're the Underground King, aren't you?" he asks a little bit startled.

"Uhm... why yes I am" I answer a little bit embarassed.

"Then no" he says "I can't beat the Underground King"

I knew it... fortunately I have a backup plan. "What if I tell you that I'll give you the title of Underground King if you beat me?"

I saw his eyes light up. "You're on! Me, Gary, will become the new Underground King!"

Oh thank you! I hope this tricks works with the others, or it will be very hard to Duel somebody. We stand at the nearest Dueling Arena, which contains the Meadow and the Desert Fields. This means that every Warrior, Beast-Warrior, Zombie, Dinosaur and Rock-Type Monsters will gain a 30% power bonus. My cards won't be affected by the field because my WATER Deck is very self-sufficent, but my Fish-Types can't attack on this field. I have to be careful.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Gary 2000**

"We'll each wager one Star Chip" Gary says drawing his card "I'll start by Summoning The 13th Grave in Attack Mode!"

A zombie came out from a grave appeares on the field (ATK: 1200).

"Since it's a Zombie-Type Monster he'll gain a Field Power Bonus, bringing him up to 1560 attack points!"

"Pretty tuff" I say as I draw my card "But I do have this: my Fairy of the Fountain!"

A green skinned girl carrying a jar appeares on the field (ATK: 1600).

"My monster may not be receiving any Field Power Bonus but it's got enough power to take down your carcass anyway! Fairy of the Fountain, attack his 13th Grave!"

From my monster's jar a blue sprite comes out and attacks my opponent's monster, destroying it.

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Gary 1960**

"That was a lucky shot, I can assure you!" says Gary drawing "Let's see how you handle my Succubus Knight!"

A nasty looking girl with six arms (gross!) appears in front of me (ATK: 1650). The Field Power Bonus increases its attack power to 2145 since it's a Warrior-Type Monster.

"Now, Succubus Knight, attack and destroy his Fairy of the Fountain!"

His monster places his hands in a prayer-like way and a purple aura starts to sorround it. It then releases the aura in an attack that destroys my monster.

**LP Richard 1455**

**LP Gary 1960**

"For my turn I simply place a monster in Defense Mode" I say.

"Already on the defensive, huh?" Gary mocks me "No matter. I Summon Battle Steer in Attack Mode!"

A grey lion with a brown mane appears on the field (ATK: 1800). Being a Beast Warrior-Type Monster it gets a Field Power Bonus, its attack power increasing to 2160.

"Now Succubus Knight, attack his face-down monster!"

My face-down monster is Turtle Tiger (DEF: 1500). Being its defense points too low, it's destroyed.

"Now it's my turn" I say "And I Set a card face-down. That's all"

"Since you don't have any monsters, I can't attack you" Gary says as he draws his next card "So I'll imitate you and Set a card face-down"

"I then Set a monster and end my turn"

"All right then. I'll Summon Guardian of the Labyrinth in Attack Mode!"

A warrior with a purple armor appears on the field (ATK: 1000). It's a Warrior-Type so the Field Power Bonus increases its attack power to 1200.

As he Summons his new monster I smirk. "Perfect. Everything is in place"

"What are you talking about?" he asks.

"I can now activate my Trap Card"

"A Trap Card?!"

"That's right: my Torrential Tribute!" I say flipping up the card from the field "Since you just Summoned a new monster, all your monsters are destroyed!"

"Oh no!"

From my field a huge wave of water appears, destroying all of Gary's monsters.

"Also..." I say keeping my smirk "My Torrential Tribute card left a bit of water on his path, so my WATER monsters will get a power up as well!"

"Grrr... you were able to do all of this with a simple Trap Card?!" Gary says getting angry.

"I like to say that my WATER Deck is very self-sufficent" I say as I draw my next card "Now I play my face-down monster to Attack Mode. Reveal yourself, White Dolphin!"

A white dolphin with a horn on his head appears on the field (ATK: 500). Being a WATER monster, the Field Power Bonus increases its attack power to 600.

"Now I play my own Trap Card!" Gary says "House of Adhesive Tape! With it, since your monster, upon its Summoning, had less thatn 500 defense points, is destroyed!"

My White Dolphin gets dragged by purple duct tape into the depths of the little ocean my Torrential Tribute had created and gets destroyed. Wow, these guys are pretty good!

"All right!" I say "I Summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus in Attack Mode!"

A giant blue seasnake appears on the field (ATK: 2600), the Field Power Bonus increasing its attack points to 3380.

"That's your ace monster!"

"That's right!" I answer with pride "But since I can't use it yet, I'll end my turn"

As Gary draws his next card I see his smile increasing further. "Yes! I've drawn my most powerful monster!"

I grunt as he places the card on the Dueling Arena. His monster appears as a blue demon with red spikes on his back (ATK: 2600).

"Meet my Zoa!"

"So what?" I ask "It has only 2600 attack points. Plus it's a Fiend-Type, so he won't be affected by the Field Power Bonus. Lastly, my monster has 3380 attack points. What you'll do?"

"Simple" he says holding up two cards "First I'll play my Dark Energy Magic Card to increase its attack power to 2900. Then I use my Sword of Deep-Seated to increase its attack power to 3400!"

"3400?! It's more powerful than my monster!" I notice.

"That's right! Now Zoa, attack and destroy his monster!"

Zoa holds up his new swords and slices my monster in half.

**LP Richard 1435**

**LP Gary 1960**

All right, I need to concentrate or this guy will wipe me out and get my Underworld King title. I calmly draw my card. As I see it, I look at my opponent. "You know, Gary, Levia-Dragon – Daedalus may be my ace monster, but it's not the most powerful one in my Deck"

"What are you talking about?!"

"Behold my Spiral Serpent!"

A giant white seasnake appears on my field (ATK: 2900). My Field Power Bonus increases its attack power to 3770.

"This is a super rare card I got as a prize in a tournament" I explain to him.

"3770 attack points? It's more than enough to destroy Zoa" Gary says frigthened.

"And that's not all!" I say "I'll also add the Furious Wave Magic Card! This card will grant 1000 attack and defense to my monster! And for my last trick I play the Magical Neutralizing Force Field, which will get rid of your two magic power-ups, leaving your monster alone, standing against a 4770 attack powerhouse! Spiral Serpent, end this duel!"

Spiral Serpent fires an attack from his mouth and destroys Zoa.

**LP Richard 1435**

**LP Gary 0**

"Oh no, I lost!" Gary says "But I had so much fun! Thank you!"

"Thanks to you too" I answer with a smile.

Now I have three Star Chips, five more to go.

All of a sudden I hear something. "Everyone who will win against the Duelist Richard Tsunami will get the title of Underground King!"

I smile as the voice of Pegasus fades. Probably he saw my wager from a hidden camera or something. Well, better for me, 'cause now more Duelists will approach me and I'll be ready to take 'em down!

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><p><strong>Fan-made cards:<strong>

**Furious Wave  
>Quick-Play Spell Card<br>Effect: Target 1 WATER monster you control. It gains 1000 ATK and DEF.**

**For those of you who didn't know I've used Torrential Tribute's anime effect, which destroys only the opponent's monsters, and I will use this effect for the rest of the fanfic. Hope you liked it! Hasta la vista!**


	3. A shy Duelist

**The following takes place during **_**The First Duel**_** and the first part of **_**Attack from the Deep**_**.**

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><p>I wander around the island in search of any Duelists who has the guts to Duel me. I know that Pegasus has put my Underground King title at stake, but lots of people decline anyway because of my reputation. God, I wish I wasn't the Underground King!<p>

As I continue to walk around I see a kid behind a tree: he's around my age, has got black short hair, a yellow shirt and blue pants. It seems kinda... scared.

"Hey, are you ok?" I ask as I approach him.

He, as an answer, looks away embarrassed.

"It's all right" I say gently "What's your name?"

"Peter..." he says in a whisper.

"Peter, what happened?" I ask.

"It's just... I've heard about the Underground King being in this island" he explains "I'm kind of afraid of him"

I look at him quite curiously. "Have you ever seen him?"

"No, but I've heard he's quite brutal with his opponents... that's why I'm hiding: I don't want to face him..."

Well, he does have a point: when I started I used to have a fierce attitude towards my opponents because of what happened between me and my brother, but I changed through the years.

"Listen Peter" I say as gently as possible "Why don't you duel me?"

He looks at me.

"How many Star Chips do you have?"

"Two"

"Ok. We'll each bet one"

"Why do you want to duel me?"

"In order to test you"

Peter makes a confused face, so I explain: "I've met him once and almost defeated him. So, if you manage to defeat me, you'll have the right strength to defeat him. What do you say?"

"Yes!" he answers smiling.

I smile as well: I don't like when people are sad, because it makes me sad as well. Hey, I'm a very sensitive person!

"Ok, follow me"

We go in the nearest Dueling Arena: it has Meadow and Forest as Fields, meaning all Warrior, Beast-Warrior, Plant, Insect and Beast-Type Monsters will gain a Field Power Bonus.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Peter 2000**

"I'll go first" I say calmly as I draw one card "I Summon Boneheimer in Defense Mode"

A red spiked seahorse appears on my field (DEF: 400).

"I'll end with this"

"My turn then" Peter says drawing a card "I Summon Skull Red Bird in Attack Mode!"

A red bird with golden wings appears on the field (ATK: 1550).

"Skull Red Bird, attack Boneheimer!"

Skull Red Bird flies up and catches my monster with his claws, crushing it in the process.

"That was a very good move!" I say "That monster is quite strong!"

"T-thank you" he says a little bit nervous "Now where was I? Oh yeah, I place one card face-down and end my turn"

"All right, here goes!" I say as I draw my card "_All right, I gave him a little bit of handicap. It's time for me to play a little bit seriously._ I Summon Akihiron in Attack Mode!"

A very bizarre blue sea creature appears on my field (ATK: 1700).

"Akihiron, attack Skull Red Bird!"

My monster goes forward, but... "Wait a second!"

"What is it?"

"I play my face-down card: Reinforcements" he says flipping over the card "According to the text of the card, it gives my Skull Red Bird a 500 attack power boost, meaning your monster loses the battle"

Skull Red Bird dodges the attack of my monster and hits it with its claws.

**LP Richard 1650**

**LP Peter 2000**

Wow, this kid is really good! And he was afraid to face me?!

"Since you have no monsters on the field, I guess I should pass my turn"

I draw my card and I place it on the field. "I Summon Emperor of Land and Sea in Attack Mode!"

My monster appears as a reptilian green creature (ATK: 1800).

"Now the effect of Reinforcements is gone, meaning your monster loses its power boost" I explain "Emperor of Land and Sea, attack and destroy Skull Red Bird with Breath of Fire!"

My monster fires some flames from his mouth and reduces Skull Red Bird to ash.

**LP Richard 1650**

**LP Peter 1750**

"Now we're almost even" I say as I end my turn.

"I knew it!" he says "I'm not strong enough!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Can't you see it?! You were able to destroy my monster and I couldn't do anything to stop you"

"But that's part of the game, Peter. Just draw your card and continue the duel"

"Ok" he says shily as he draws "I Summon Pale Beast in Attack Mode!"

A blue monster with a shark-like head appears on the field (ATK: 1500).

"It's a Beast-Type Monster" he says "So, according to the new rules, he receives a Field Power Bonus"

"_Now it has 1950 attack points_"

"Pale Beast, attack Emperor of Land and Sea!"

His monster chomps mine into pieces destroying it.

**LP Richard 1500**

**LP Peter 1750**

"I did it!" Peter says happily "Now I end my turn!"

I'm happy that he's enjoying the duel, but my title is at stake, so I can't afford to lose. I quickly draw another card. "I Summon Giga Gagagigo!"

A reptile with a silver armor appears on the field. (ATK: 2450).

"That's too strong!" says a startled Peter.

"Giga Gagagigo, destroy Pale Beast!"

My monster rushes towards Pale Beast and crushes it thanks to its mighty arms.

**LP Richard 1500**

**LP Peter 1250**

"You know?" Peter says after a few seconds of silence "I'm having lots of fun!"

"So do I, you're a very good Duelist" I say smiling.

"Oh, we will tell after I'll take down that monster of yours. I draw my card!"

Wow, he became so confident! I wonder what he's going to do now...

"I Summon Empress Judge in Attack Mode!"

A red haired woman in a green dress with a staff appears on the field (ATK: 2100).

"She may be not strong enough to defeat your Giga Gagagigo now, but she's a Warrior-Type Monster, meaning she'll benefit from the Field Power Bonus, giving her a grand total of 2730 attack points!" he explains with a confident smile "Empress Judge, destroy Giga Gagagigo!"

Empress Judge waves her staff towards Giga Gagagigo and hits him.

**LP Richard 1220**

**LP Peter 1250**

"Now I'm on the lead again!" Peter says "I end my turn!"

I draw my card and smile. "I Summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

My ace monster appears on the field (ATK: 2600).

"Next I'll power it up with my Steel Shell Magic Card to increase its attack power by 400"

"Now it's stronger than my Empress!"

"Correct. Daedalus, attack Empress Judge with Water Blast Cannon!"

Daedalus fires a water attack from his mouth, destroying Empress Judge.

**LP Richard 1220**

**LP Peter 980**

"This is one of my best monsters" I tell him "It would be very hard to beat it, but I would really love to see you do it"

"Huh?"

"Well, the only one that defeated this beast was the Underground King, so... you'll be as strong as him of you manage to do the same thing"

"But I don't have a monster that powerful in my hand!"

"All you need to do is draw it" I answer "Believe in your deck"

He is esitant for a moment, but then he says: "Yes! I believe in my deck!"

Peter then draws his card and his eyes open wide. "This is my best monster!"

I look at him with confusion and he places the card on the field: a giant purple elephant wearing an indian armor and carrying a sword appears on the field (ATK: 2400).

"Garnecia Elefantis!" Peter says "And being a Beast-Warrior, it gains a Field Power Bonus, going to 3120 attack points!"

"Now it's stronger than my Daedalus!"

"Garnecia Elefantis, attack Daedalus!"

The giant elephant waves his giant sword and slices my monster in half.

**LP Richard 1100**

**LP Peter 980**

"Yes, I've done it! I've defeated your monster!"

As Peter jumps in joy, I look at him smiling. "_Wow, I never thought he actually could do it. He's very strong. If he had more self confidence, he could be a very powerful Duelist._" I think "Now it's my turn!"

I draw my card and look at my opponent. "Peter, this duel is over"

"What?"

"I place one card face-down, then I activate the Magic Card Water of Life to revive Levia-Dragon – Daedalus in Attack Mode!"

My ace monster appears again.

"What are you doing?" Peter asks in confusion "Your monster has too low attack power. Garnecia Elefantis, attack him!"

"And in this moment I reveal my face-down card: Maelstrom of Destruction!"

"What's that card?!"

"I can only activate it if I control a WATER monster with at least 2000 attack points" I explain "Now all monsters on the field are destroyed and we take 500 damage for each monster destroyed this way"

A giant whirlpool appears on the field and sucks away every monster on the field.

**LP Richad 100**

**LP Peter 0**

"Oh no, I lost!" Peter says.

"Yeah, but you almost did it. I almost lost my title to you"

"Your title?" he asks "You mean you're-"

"Correct"

He looks at me with surprise.

"I wasn't that bad, was I?" I ask smiling.

"N-no, actually" he answers "I had a blast dueling with you!"

"Thanks. You did very well too. You are a very skillful Duelist. Work on your self-esteem and we'll may duel again"

"Yes!" he says.

He then gives me his Star Chip. Now I have four.

* * *

><p>As I continue my travel I see Yugi and his gang approaching the oceanic part of the island. As I approach them I see a guy coming out of the water and offering them food.<p>

I quickly run towards them as I see the new guy trying to challenge Yugi to a duel.

"STOP!"

My yell makes everyone turn towards me as I look the new guy in his eyes. "It's been a long time... brother!"

* * *

><p><strong>Fan-made cards:<strong>

**Maelstrom of Destruction  
>Normal Trap Card<br>Effect: Activate only when you control a WATER Monster with 2000 or more ATK. Destroy all monsters on the field, then inflict 500 damage to both players for each destroyed monster.**

**Hope you liked it! Yes, I know Empress Judge is a Fusion Monster, but in the anime some OCG/TCG Fusion Monsters are Normal Monsters, so I took the liberty to do this little change (please don't be mad at me). In the next chapter, I warn you, I'll change a few of the events that happened in the original series, but it won't affect the original timeline at all, so that I can continue the story without problems. Until then, hasta la vista!**


	4. Clash of the brethren

**The following takes place during **_**Attack from the Deep**_**.**

* * *

><p>"BROTHER?!"<p>

I kinda expected Yugi and the gang's scream: I didn't tell anything to them after all.

"Yes, him being older" I explain.

"You don't look too much similar to him" Joey observes.

"I do have more charm than him" I say with a smirk causing Mako to grunt "I've been grown in a horphanage, our father adopted me a few years ago"

"And why you're so mad at your brother?" Yugi asks.

"I'm not, he is"

"ME?!" Mako yells "You've neglected the WATER Duelist's ideals! Look at you, using that fake monsters in your Deck..."

"Here we go again with this 'fake' thing. I can't let you insult my cards. They do have a soul, like we do"

Here Mako laughs. "Don't make me laugh! It seems like one of those fairy tales that they read to little children... like you"

I grunt at the insult, but I say: "At least I don't act like a freaky-fish guy, like you do"

"I'm not a freaky fish-guy!" Mako protests.

As I see Yugi and his friends chuckling because of my insult, I look at Mako with a smirk.

"Grrr... whatever!" he says "Are you here to duel me or what?!"

"Of course I am! And I don't care how many Star Chips you have: the winner takes all"

"Wow! Are you sure about this?" Joey asks.

"Yes" I answer "It's time for us to see who's the greatest WATER Duelist!"

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Mako 2000**

Finally, this field is Ocean, so I can use every beast I want. "I'll go first!" I say as I draw my card "I Summon Boneheimer in Attack Mode!"

A red spiked seahorse appears on my field (ATK: 850), its attack power increasing to 1105, because it's a WATER monster.

"I think it's enough for now"

"All right then!" Mako says drawing his own card "I Summon Fiend Kraken in Attack Mode!"

A giant white squid appears on the field (ATK: 1200). It's a WATER monster as well, so its attack power goes up to 1560.

"Fiend Kraken, destroy that puny seahorse!"

The giant kraken moves his tentacles on my monster and crushes it.

**LP Richard 1545**

**LP Mako 2000**

"Wow, what an incredible clash!" Joey says.

"Yes, it's quite interesting" Yugi adds.

"Back to me" I say drawing my card "I Summon Lightning Conger in Attack Mode!"

A green eel with yellow lightnings on his body appears on the field (ATK: 350).

"Huh? But that monster's too weak" the guy named Tristan says.

"It may seem like this, but my monster not only gains a Field Power Bonus and goes to 455 attack points, but it also uses electric attacks, so that Fiend Kraken will lose its Field Power Bonus" I explain.

Mako grunts. "You're monster's still to weak to defeat mine!"

"Don't worry" I say "I have the Furious Wave Magic Card with me, so that my monster will gain 1000 attack points"

As my monster gains more strength, I send it to attack my brother's monster.

**LP Richard 1545**

**LP Mako 1745**

"Against this guy you've got no chance" I say.

"You're wrong" Mako says drawing a card "Because I have this: Jellyfish!"

A blue jellyfish appears on the field (ATK: 1200).

I grunt at the sight of that monster. "_That jellyfish can absorb electric attacks, meaning that even if his monster won't have the Power Bonus when it'll attack, my Lightning Conger will also lose the Power Bonus as well as Furious Wave's power boost!_"

"Jellyfish, attack Lightning Conger!"

Jellyfish wraps his tentacles around my monster and sucks away all his electric energy, causing its destruction.

**LP Richard 695**

**LP Mako 1745**

I place my monster in the Graveyard. "_He's good!_" I think "_I need to think of something as fast as possible!_"

I look towards our 'audience' and I see Yugi watching me with a different look than before. "Richard, if you want to win this duel, you must believe in the Heart of the Cards"

I look at him with a puzzled look.

"This Field is pure gold to you and we promised each other to fight in the finals, so don't disappoint me"

Wow, I never thought he could say a speech like this, but he's right: I made a promise and I never break those. I nod at him and I draw my card. "I Summon Takriminos in Attack Mode!"

A green monster resembling a dragonesque version of the Creature of the Black Lagoon appears on the field (ATK: 1500), its attack power increasing to 1950 because of the Field Power Bonus.

"Takriminos, attack Jellyfish!"

My monster swims towards Jellyfish and slashes it with its claws.

**LP Richard 695**

**LP Mako 1355**

"Even though your monsteer had a Field Power Bonus as well, it still had been destroyed"

"I still have the upper hand!"

"Not for long"

"My turn! I Summon Kairyu-Shin in Attack Mode!"

A giant Loch Ness Monster-like creature appeared on the field (ATK: 1800).

"Since we're on the Ocean Field, he goes up to 2340 attack points!" Mako explains "Kairyu-Shin, destroy Takriminos!"

His monster swims downwards and emerges once again, eating my monster with just one chomp.

**LP Richard 305**

**LP Mako 1355**

"_I need to pull myself together_" I think "_One more attack like that and I'm screwed_"

I draw my new card and I place it on the field. "I Summon Gora Turtle in Defense Mode!"

An orange turtle with blue eyes appears on the field (DEF: 1100).

"It may have 1430 attack and defense points now that has got the Field Power Bonus, but it still can't compete with my Kairyu-Shin!" Mako says confidently.

"I'm not using this for competing, but for guarding" I explain "As long as this card remains on the field, all monsters with 1900 or more attack points can't move"

"Grrr... all right then, I'll simply Summon more monsters and wait" Mako says drawing another card "I Summon Great White Terror in Attack Mode!"

I look at the field and I see a fin moving through the water (ATK: 1500), but since its attack power is now 1950 thanks to the Field Power Bonus, Mako still can't attack me: I have another turn.

"Your move"

"I promised I will face Yugi in the end and I will keep my promise! I draw my card!" I declare "I activate the Magic Card Monster Recovery! With this I send my Gora Turtle back to my Deck along with the cards in my hand and I draw 5 more cards"

As I look my deck I think: "_Heart of the Cards, if you really exist, please help me. I need you now_"

I draw my cards without talking and, as I see one of them, I place it on the field instantly

"I Summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

My ace monster appears on the field (ATK: 2600), its attack power increasing to 3380 thanks to the Field Power Bonus.

"Levia-Dragon – Daedalus, attack Great White Terror and end this duel! Water Blast Cannon!"

My monster attacks and hits Mako's shark, destroying it.

**LP Richard 305**

**LP Mako 0**

"Looks like you lost" I say with determination "So grab your stuff and get out of the island!"

"Why?!" he yells punching the Dueling Arena "Why I can't never defeat you!"

"Because no matter how hard you try, if you continue like this, you'll NEVER defeat me!" I answer "Before you go away, leave here your Star Chips"

"Grrr... it's not over, I assure you!" he says as he goes towards the boat that takes away all eliminated Duelits.

I then get down the platform and go towards Yugi. "Since Mako challenged you to a duel first, one of these Star Chips is yours. The only thing I wanted to do is kick him out of the tournament"

Now I have five Star Chips. Five more to go.

"That was a very cool duel!" Joey says "Is there a possibility you and me can duel together sometimes?"

I laugh. "Maybe not now, Joey. I don't want to take you out of the tournament. At least not now"

"WHAT?!" he yells "ARE YOU UNDERESTIMATING ME?!"

"Uhm... yes?" I say with sincerity.

"WHY YOU LITTLE..."

Joey tries to tackle me but fortunately Tristan grabs him and stops his rampage.

"See you at the finals" I say as I leave the gang.

* * *

><p>It had been at least another half an hour as my duel with Mako ended, so I decided to climb on a tree and have a little rest. As I look through my Deck, I once again take out the Great White card that Yugi gave him to me. "<em>Yugi was very kind giving me this card, but a Duelist is a Duelist: when we'll face together, I must treat him as an enemy, not a friend<em>"

I then look up at the sky. "_Seto... did he really beat you?_"

* * *

><p><strong>Fan-made cards:<strong>

**Furious Wave  
><strong>**Quick-Play Spell Card  
><strong>**Effect: Select 1 WATER monster you control. It gains 1000 ATK and DEF.**

**What? Were you expecting a happy ending with the two brothers having a truce? WRONG! I think it's too cliché, even for a show that has almost every cliché on the book all by himself, and it also helps me for the next Seasons, because this is pretty much a chapter involving character development, even though I'm sorry it's a little bit shorter than the others. However I really had a blast writing this chapter and I'll start writing the next one as soon as possible. Until then, hasta la vista!**


	5. Fear of the dark

**The following takes place during the last part of **_**Trial by Red Eyes**_**, **_**Evil Spirit of the Ring**_**, **_**The Light at the End of the Tunnel**_** and **_**Winning Through Intimidation**_**.**

* * *

><p>Since my duel with Mako I've defeated two more Duelists, waging two Star Chips each, and I've won both duels, giving me a grand total of nine Star Chips, meaning I just need another one in order to go to Pegasus' castle.<p>

It's getting late though, so I decide to stop dueling and start to search for a place to rest.

As I look, I see Yugi and his gang walking so I approach them. "Hey, how's it going?"

"Oh hi, Richard!" Yugi says smiling "We're doing good, we're just searching for a place to rest"

"And we're starving…" Joey says holding his belly.

"There's no problem with that" I answer taking my bag "I've got some spare food I can share. If you help me making a fire, I can give you some"

"Really? Awesome!" Joey says licking his lips.

A half an hour later, we are in front of the fire eating some food I've brought.

"I was just wondering" Joey asks "How can someone with a deck that is based only on one type of cards can reach the top like this"

"Not Type, but Attribute!" I say a little offended "Anyway, we of the Tsunami family are sea lovers. But I respect all his creatures and wonders, while my brother doesn't bother at all and eats all the fish he wants"

"So you don't eat fish?"

"Of course not! I don't know how, but somehow I can hear them suffering as I try to eat them. I just can't let them suffer. They're my partners, not my food"

"Returning to the deck part…"

"Oh yes, sorry. My deck is a WATER based one for two reasons: the first I've explained it to you right now, while the second is because it's easier for me to play"

They look at me with puzzled looks.

"Each Attribute of cards has his ins and his outs: WATER monsters are quite aggressive, but lack defense. Knowing so, I balance my deck with Magic and Traps that allow me to bypass this 'obstacle', if you want to call it like that"

"Wow, you sure know a lot about Duel Monsters" Yugi says.

"Well… if you want to put it like that" I say a little bit embarrassed.

"Oh no, I know I'm right" Yugi says turning serious "I've met a lot of strong duelists who are very strong, but you can duel circles around them, and you're… how old are you again?"

"Twelve"

"TWELVE?!" both Yugi, Tea, Tristan and Joey yell.

"What?"

"Well… you look older…" Yugi says almost in a whisper.

"Hey, I heard you!"

"No, not like that" he quickly says "I'm saying you're very mature for your age"

"Yeah, right…" I mutter a little bit offended.

"T-the Underground King… i-is just twelve!" says Joey "I'll never beat him"

I look at him with a smirk.

* * *

><p>After a little, we start to get tired, so we go to bed. My sleep doesn't last much though, as I get hit with some water.<p>

"Okay, who's idea was this?!" I yell as I spit out the water.

"It's dueling time!"

As I try to recognize the voice, all of a sudden fire is spit out from nowhere in front of me. As I try to dodge it, I look in front of me and I see a Dueling Arena, with a man facing me: it was very tall and creepy with black spiky hair.

"My name's PaniK" he says "And we're now going to duel right now. If I win, you'll get eliminated!"

"WHAT?!" I yell "ARE YOU KIDDING?!"

"No, I'm not. You think that fire is just for show?"

He's got a point. I have no choice: I have to battle.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP PaniK 2000**

"I'll start" he says drawing "I Summon Castle of Dark Illusions in Defense Mode!"

A giant golden castle floating in middle air appears on the field (DEF: 1930).

"Since this is the dark field, it will gain a Field Power Bonus" explains PaniK as his monster increases its attack to 2509 "Plus, his special ability hides my monsters, making you unable to see them"

Crud, this means I don't know what I'm facing! Better defend myself. "I Summon Misairuzame in Defense Mode!"

A green shark with a missile on his belly appears on my field (DEF: 1600).

"I end my turn with this"

"It's that all? What's wrong, kid? Afraid of the dark?" he mocks me while drawing his card "I'll Summon a monster in Attack Mode and I'll use it to attack your Misairuzame!"

I see two red eyes emerging from the black fog and two sharp claws destroy my monster.

"I Summon Takriminos in Defense Mode!"

A green sea serpent appears on my field (DEF: 1200).

"All right, then I'll Summon another monster on my field!"

Two more red eyes appear on PaniK's field.

"But this time I'll end my turn"

"_He ended his turn without attacking. Does it mean that my monster's more powerful than his?_" I think as I draw my card "II'll switch my Takriminos to Attack Mode and I'll attack!"

As my monster rushes towards his, the same claws as before appear and tear Takriminos to shreds.

**LP Richard 1706**

**LP PaniK 2000**

"_I've lost 294 Life Points, meaning his monster had 1794 Attack Points_" I think "I place one card face-down and Summon Emperor of the Land and Sea in Defense Mode!"

A blue reptile appears on my field (DEF: 1500).

"It's my turn again" he says drawing "I don't like the look of your face-down card, so I think I'll simply destroy it with this: Reaper of the Cards!"

The infamous Duel Monster appears on the field (ATK: 1380), as well as getting a Field Power Bonus, that brings its attack power to 1794.

"When the Reaper of the Cards is Summoned it instantly destroys one Magic or Trap Card you have on the field!"

I smirk at this. "It doesn't matter, because you've triggered it anyway: go, Torrential Tribute!"

"What?!"

"This card destroys every monster you have, including the Castle of Dark Illusions and all the monsters you've hidden behind it"

As the water falls on the field, I see for a brief second two monsters, namely Barox and Dark Chimera, before they disappear along with the other monsters PaniK had.

"And since it was activated, Torrential Tribute will leave a little bit of water, that will allow my monster to gain a Field Power Bonus"

"Impossible!"

My Emperor's defense points become 1950 as I draw my card.

"For my turn I'll simply place one card face-down"

"It's my turn now!" he says drawing "I Summon King of Yamimakai!"

A demonic looking monster appears on the field (ATK: 2000). The Field Power Bonus increases its attack power to 2600.

"King of Yamimakai will now destroy your Emperor of the Land and Sea!"

PaniK's monster slashes Emperor of the Land and Sea with his claws and goes back to his place.

"It's my turn again" I say drawing "I use Polymerization to fuse Bottom Dweller and Tongyo that are in my hand to Summon Deepsea Shark!"

A purple and red shark with a sapphire on his forehead appears on my field (ATK: 1900). Thanks to the field power bonus its attack power increases to 2470.

"That monster can't defeat King of Yamimakai!" PaniK says.

"Not yet" I say "But if I add Steel Shell everything changes, because it adds 400 more attack points to my monster"

"Oh no!"

"Deepsea Shark, attack King of Yamimakai!"

My monster chomps down King of Yamimakai and destroys it.

**LP Richard 1706**

**LP PaniK 1730**

"With it we're almost even"

PaniK grunts and draws his card. "I Summon Metal Guardian in Defense Mode!"

A metal black monster appears on the field (DEF: 2150), which gains a Field Power Bonus, going up to 2795 defense points.

"Plus I'll add the magic of Chaos Shield, which allows my monster to gain 300 defense points" PaniK says activating his card "Now your monster can't harm me!"

"Maybe" I say drawing "But I do have a card that can: Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

My ace monster appears on the field (ATK: 2600), its attack power increasing to 3380.

"Plus I'll activate my face-down card: Stop Defense! This card switches your monsters to Attack Mode, so that my Daedalus can attack him and end this duel!"

Daedalus fires his attack and destroys Metal Guardian.

**LP Richard 1706**

**LP PaniK 0**

"Yes, I've won!" I say as I start to get down from the platform.

"You little…" PaniK says getting my attention "You're not going anywhere!"

As he says this, he presses a button and flames start to go towards me. I scream and cover my eyes… but nothing happens. As I open my eyes I see a yellow barrier shielding me from the fire.

"What the-" I say before looking down: I see Yugi and his friends standing before me, Yugi's pendant glowing. Is that an Eye of Wdjat the one on Yugi's forehead?

"PaniK" he says in a deep voice "You must show respect to the duelist that defeats you and not trying to kill him. You deserve a Penalty Game"

Penalty Game? What the hell is he talking about?

"Endless Fall!"

All of a sudden PaniK screams and falls to the floor, the flames disappearing.

I get down the Dueling Arena and approach them.

"How did you get here?" I ask.

"We heard the monsters' clash, so we decided to take a look" Joey says.

"You were very lucky, Richard" Yugi says.

"Why is that?"

"He's an eliminator. I met one of those this afternoon. Their jobs is to kick out people from the Duelist Kingdom by challenging them to a duel and take all their Star Chips"

"Well, he was a though one, but I managed to win"

"Good , so we can all go back to sleep" Joey says yawning.

"I won't go with you" I say.

"Why?"

I reach the Dueling Arena and take a Star Chip from PaniK. "With this battle, I've earned ten Star Chips. I'll sleep into Pegasus' castle. I'll wait for you there"

* * *

><p>"What do you want?" the hairy guy in front of the castle says.<p>

"I've got ten Star Chips, I'm ready to enter the castle"

The guy smiles suddently. "Oh. In this case, come in. Mr. Pegasus will give you a room to sleep"

"Thank you" I say as he lets me in "_Yugi, I hope you'll walk into this doors as well tomorrow, because I'm looking for that duel_"

* * *

><p><strong>And that's a wrap! I know I've missed a few episodes, but I'm planning on skipping a few of those because Richard won't be in them or simply won't do anything important. I end this chapter saying thank you to the Guest that reviewed me and, as an answer to his question, I say: Mako is not a bad guy, is simply a "douche", like Chazz Princeton when he was still an Obelisk Blue in YGO GX; he's simply himself with the problem of having a brother that doesn't share his same thoughts. With that, hasta la vista!<strong>


	6. Bandit Keith

**The following takes place during **_**Double Trouble Duel**_** and **_**Face Off**_**.**

* * *

><p>I wake up at what it seems to be at least 10 o'clock as I get greeted by Maximillion Pegasus himself.<p>

"Good morning, Richard-boy!" he says happily.

"Good morning, Mr. Pegasus" I answer.

"Congratulations for being the first Duelist to enter my castle!" he says "Wanna duel me immediately?"

"Actually no" I say "There's a person I want to duel first and I would like to do it during the final phases of the Tournament instead of already jumping into the duel between us"

For a second, I think I see his left eye glowing, but I don't mind.

"I see" he says "I understand your Dueling Spirit, young Underground King. Still, one contender is coming here right now in order to face me"

I wonder who that is? I might as well take him out.

"Of course you can!" he says startling me.

Did he just read my mind? Whatever… "Where I can wait him?"

"First have breakfast" he answers "I'll arrange a meeting between the two of you as fast as possible"

* * *

><p>After breakfast (it was very nice, actually), I head towards the main room in the castle. As I enter, I see a guy with sunglasses and an American flag on his head. Is that the Card Professor Bandit Keith? Yes, it is!<p>

"So it's you who I have to beat before I face Pegasus" he says with a bored look "Let's get this over with"

"Prepare yourself" I answer back.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Keith 2000**

"I'll go first!" declares Keith drawing "I Summon Pendulum Machine in Defense Mode!"

A giant machine with a pendulum-like axe appears on the field (DEF: 2000).

"You may be the Underground King" Keith says "But I'm the former US Champion, and I'm gonna kick your butt!"

"You said it well: you're the former US Champion" I answer back "_Just wait for me Yugi: I'll beat this guy and allow both of us to fulfill our destiny!_"

I draw my card and I play it instantly. "I Summon White Dolphin in Defense Mode!"

A white dolphin with a horn on his head appears on my field (DEF: 400).

Keith laughs. "That card's not even worth beating! Pendulum Machine, prepare the dinner!"

His monster grabs mine and slices him to pieces. Fortunately I lose no Life Points since my monster was in Defense Mode. But fortunately my plan succeeded: I tricked him into attacking White Dolphin, so that now it's vulnerable.

"Hurry up! It's your turn!" yells Keith.

"I know!" I answer drawing "I Summon Emperor of the Land and Sea in Attack Mode!"

A green reptilian monster appears on my field (ATK: 1800).

"Emperor of the Land and Sea, attack Pendulum Machine!"

From my monster's mouth, flames come out and hit Pendulum Machine… but not destroying it!

"_Crud, I forgot that Machine monsters resist to non physical attacks! I need to use monsters that attack his creatures directly! But I don't have a lot of those in my deck!_"

"Now it's my turn!" says Keith drawing "I Summon Launcher Spider!"

A red and green mechanical spider holding two missile holders appears on the field (ATK: 2200).

"Take aim and destroy that monster!"

Launcher Spider's missiles fire and hit my monster.

**LP Richard 1600**

**LP Keith 2000**

"You're no match for me!" he says.

"_Again with the trash-talking!_" I think as I scan my hand, which contains Great White, Fish Depth Charge, Furious Wave, Shadow Spell and Spike Seadra "It's my turn again! I play one card face-down and Summon Great White in Defense Mode!"

The card Yugi gave me, a huge humanoid shark, appears on my field (DEF: 800).

"I can't believe you became Underground King by having a card like that in your deck…"

Again with insulting my monsters! Does Keith know my brother or what?

"I'll play a card face-down too and then I Summon Zoa in Defense Mode!"

A blue and red demon appears on the field (DEF: 1900).

"_Wait a minute!_" I think "_I've seen that monster before! That's not a Machine, it's a Fiend! All attacks work on it! On the other hand though, Zoa has 2600 attack points, but he played it in Defense Mode. That card he placed face-down must be a trap!_"

I draw my card without talking. "I Summon Spike Seadra!"

A blue spiked serpentine monster appears on my field (ATK: 1600).

"Then I'll use Furious Wave, to raise its attack power by 1000!" I continue as my monster's attack score becomes 2600 "Go, Spike Seadra, use your electric attack to destroy Zoa!"

My monster starts to charge electricity from its spikes as I see Keith smirking. "I activate a Trap Card, Metalmorph!"

I watch in horror as Zoa's body morphs into the one of a robot (ATK: 3000). Also, being its attack power increased, my electric attacks turns back to my monster, destroying it!

**LP Richard 1200**

**LP Keith 2000**

Keith starts to laugh again. "It's my turn again!"

As he looks at the card he drew, he smirks. "I win, kid"

I look at him with a puzzled look.

"I know your Great White is in Defense Mode… but what if I play… Stop Defense!"

No! Not that! My Great White only has 1600 attack points! If Metalzoa attacks, I'll lose.

"Game over, kid! Metalzoa strikes!"

All of a sudden a giant whirlpool takes over the field and after a few seconds both Great White and Metalzoa are gone.

"What?!" Keith yells.

I smirk. "I trapped you with my Fish Depth Charge card" I explain "By sacrificing my Fish monster Great White I was able to destroy your Metalzoa and draw another card"

"Grrr… you got me this time…"

"And now it's back to me!" I saw as I draw my card, which is 7 Colored Fish "First I'll play one card face-down and Summon 7 Colored Fish!"

A giant fish which body's made with the colors of the rainbow appears on the field (ATK: 1800).

"Attack Pendulum Machine!"

My monster is a physical attacker, since it hits with its tail, so Pendulum Machine gets destroyed.

**LP Richard 1200**

**LP Keith 1950**

"It's my turn!" Keith declares drawing "Launcher Spider, target 7 Colored Fish!"

As his monster aims for its attack, shackles starts to appear and wrap it.

"You activated my Shadow Spell" I say as I look Keith's face tremble in fear "This card blocks your monster and decreases its power by 700 points. Now, 7 Colored Fish, attack!"

My monster hits Launcher Spider with its tail and destroys it.

**LP Richard 1200**

**LP Keith 1650**

"I'll show you what it means fighting with the Underworld King!" I declare.

Keith as an answer grins and draws his card. "I Summon this: Barrel Dragon!"

His monster appears as a mechanical dragon with guns in place of his arms and part of his face (ATK: 2600).

"Here I go! Barrel Dragon, attack!"

His monster fires three bullets (one from each gun) and destroys my monster.

**LP Richard 400**

**LP Keith 1650**

I stood in fear as Keith laughs and declares: "Come on! Play another monster!"

"I Summon Takriminos in Defense Mode!"

My green reptilian monster appears to the field (DEF: 1200). It doesn't stay on the field for too long as it gets destroyed by Barrel Dragon.

"It's not over yet!" Keith says ending his Battle Phase "I Summon Slot Machine in Defense Mode!"

A giant yellow robot monster with a slot machine on its chest appears on the field (DEF: 2300).

I scan my hand, looking at the left most card, which is Levia-Dragon – Daedalus. "_I still have my ace monster_" I think "_But it has 2600 attack points, just like Barrel Dragon… they'll just destroy each other. I must wait to draw a power-up card_"

I draw my card silently and then I declare: "I Summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

My ace monster appears on the field (ATK: 2600).

"So, at last… the strongest card in your deck" Keith says "But it's no match for my Barrel Dragon!"

"I play my Magic Card Rare Metal Scale!" I declare "This card allows me to increase my monster's attack power by 100 points, making it 2700!"

"Impossible!"

"Daedalus, destroy Barrel Dragon!"

My ace monster goes towards his Barrel Dragon and squeezes it with its body, destroying it. Luckily my monster has multiple attacks.

**LP Richard 400**

**LP Keith 1550**

"Now it's my turn!" declares Keith drawing "I place one card face-down and end my turn!"

Fortunately, his Slot Machine only has 2300 defense points: I can beat it easily. "My turn!" I declare as I draw a new card "Fist my Rare Metal Scale's effect will increase my monster's attack by 100 more points. Then I place one card face-down and attack Slot Machine!"

My monster starts to wrap Slot Machine, but the monster breaks free.

"I use my face-down card 7 Completed!"

One of Slot Machine's question mark starts to spin until it stops to 7.

"This card increases my monster's defense power by 700… for a grand total of 3000 points" explains Keith "So your Dragon can't even scratch it!"

**LP Richard 200**

**LP Keith 1550**

"It's my turn!" says Keith drawing "Guess what? I got another 7 Completed, but this time I'll use it to pump up Slot Machine's attack!"

Another 7 appears, increasing Slot Machine's attack power to 2700.

"Next I'll play Blast Sphere!"

A red spider-like monster appears on the field (ATK: 2900). It attaches instantly to Daedalus.

"In the next turn my monster will explode and will drag your Daedalus with it!" Keith explains.

"_I'll put my faith on this next card_" I think as I draw my card.

"Time's up!" declares Keith as Blast Sphere explodes.

**LP Richard 200**

**LP Keith 1450**

"That was close" I say showing Keith the card I just drew "The Quick-Play Magic Card Pyramid Energy. This increased my monster's attack by 200 more points, meaning it's you the one who took the damage and lost a monster. Also, during my Stanby Phase, my Rare Metal Scale's effect increases my monster's attack power by 100 more points"

"Why you little…" mutters Keith drawing "Look what I have! Another 7 Completed card!"

What?! Another one?!

"This card increases my monster's attack power by 700 more points, meaning you're finished!" Keith explains "Now, Slot Machine, destroy his monster and end this duel!"

But both Keith and his monster stop at the sight of my face-down card activating. "I use my Trap Card Ghosts From the Past. This card allows me to remove from play two monsters from my graveyard and reduce your monster's attack power to 0"

Keith simply stands in fear as my monster destroys his.

**LP Richard 200**

**LP Keith 0**

* * *

><p><strong>Fanmade cards:<strong>

**Furious Wave  
>Quick-Play Spell Card<br>Effect: Select 1 WATER Monster you control. It gains 1000 ATK and DEF.**

**Rare Metal Scale  
>Equip Spell Card<br>Effect: Equip only to a WATER Monster. Increase its ATK by 100 points. During each of your Standby Phase, the equipped monster gains 100 ATK.**

**And this chapter's over as well. I've closed it right after the end of the duel, because I'll tell the aftermath in the next chapter. Until then, hasta la vista!**


	7. A reason to fight

**The following takes place during the last part of **_**Face Off**_** and **_**Shining Friendship**_**.**

* * *

><p>"It can't be!" Keith yells "How could I've lost?"<p>

"Yes, how did you lose while cheating?" Pegasus says all of a sudden with a serious look.

"Cheating? What do you mean?" I ask confused.

"Your young eyes may deceive you, but mine don't, Richard boy" he answers "The 7 Completed cards were not drawn from his deck but he took it from his sleeve"

"What?!" I yell facing Keith "I knew you were desperate, but I didn't think you were THAT desperate"

"SHUT THE HELL UP, KID!" Keith says pulling out a gun from his pocket.

"Holy-" I say as I raise up my hands and start praying for my life.

Keith then points his gun right at Pegasus's head. "All right, Pegasus. Give me the prize money now or I'll use your skull for a Hamlet remake after I'll take it from your dead body!"

Oh my God, I didn't think this could happen. I will be honest with you: I think I peed myself a little.

Pegasus, on the other hand, isn't scared. He instead presses a button and a trap opens under Keith's feet and the former U.S. Champion falls screaming.

"W-where d-did he g-go?" I ask stammering because of the fear I had. Hey, I'm only 12, I don't always have cold blood!

"In the sea... literally" Pegasus answers.

I throw up in front of him. "S-sorry" I say as I try to recompose myself.

"No problem" he says smiling like it was really nothing "Do you want to take some fresh air?"

"Yeah, maybe"

"Croquet, can you please guide our guest out?" Pegasus says "And take a cloth so that we can take care of this mess"

"Yes, mr. Pegasus" Croquet says as he helps me getting up.

* * *

><p>As we get to the castle's door Croquet asks me: "I'm going to release you. You think you can manage to stand up?"<p>

"Y-yes... thank you, Croquet" I answer a little bit weakly.

As the man leaves I open the door and I see... Yugi? Wait a minute... is he... CRYING?!

"Guys!" I say as I weakly approach them.

"Richard!" Tea says as he notices me.

"What's up with Yu-whooooah!"

I start fall over but fortunately Joey grabs me in time. "T-thanks, man"

"Don't even mention it" he says "What's wrong? Your face is pale"

"I had a... unpleasant moment" I answer "Anyway, what's wrong with Yugi?"

"Long story short, he had a duel with Kaiba and lost" Joey explains.

I look at the poor beast Yugi was appearing to be and I tight my fists with anger. "What kind of man are you,Yugi?!" I say "Even though I'm the Underground King, I also lost once during my Dueling career!"

Yugi looks at me.

"And it wasn't against Seto freakin' Kaiba, but against a girl that has my age!"

Everybody looks at me with amazement.

"It was there that I knew what a lost was" I continue "And you know what?! I LOVED IT! A lost is something that matures you more than a win! You'll NEVER be the King of Games if you don't think it like this. And if you don't think it like this, I don't even want to fight you anymore: right now you're just a miserable Duelist that is worst that my brother"

"Hey, watch your mouth!" Tea says angrily.

"Why should I?!" I answer looking at her "I'm just telling the freakin' truth! I used to respect him. But now is just a brat that cries because his toy had been broken"

I then turn around facing the castle. "Still..." I say "I want to give you a chance"

I throw 5 of my own Star Chips on the ground right next to him. "Take them and advance"

He looks at the Star Chips and then at me. "I... I won't take them"

I grab him by his collar and look at him with my eyes bulging. "Listen now. I have no idea why you attended this tournament in the first place, and to tell you the truth, I don't give a damn. But I thought we had a promise: to face each other in the finals. Will you do it for me? Please!"

That last word I say it while clenching my teeth so that only him could hear me.

He sighs. "Fine"

"Good" I say releasing him "Now let's get in"

"Wait a minute!" the hair guy says "You don't have enough Star Chips to enter! You need 5 more!"

"He already entered in, you moron!" Joey says.

"No, Joey. He's right" I say "I need to get 5 more Star Chips, and I'll get them before the sun goes down. I only need someone to trounce"

Speak of the devil, I see a girl approaching the castle with 10 Star Chips. Wait a minute, that's... "Mai Valentine!"

I turn towards Joey who says along with me: "You know her too?"

"If you two stop with the church choir, I have a castle to enter" she says.

"Oh no, you won't" I say "I challenge you to a duel now!"

Mai laughs. "And why should I accept?"

"Because both of us have 10 Star Chips" I lie "But only one of us can enter the castle"

She looks at me with a suspicious look. "Well... you are right about this... fine, I'll duel you"

* * *

><p>As we place our decks to the main platforms of the nearest Duel Arena I say. "We'll each bet 5 Star Chips"<p>

"Agreed!" Mai says.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Mai 2000**

"_Fortunately she didn't noticed my deception_" I think "All right, Mai. I'll bring out Boneheimer in Defense Mode!"

A spiked red seahorse appears on my field (DEF: 400). This Duel Arena has no Fields, so no stats changes occur.

Mai simply similes and draws her card. "I Summon Harpie Lady in Attack Mode!"

His monster appears as a winged woman with red hair and blue skin (ATK: 1300).

"And I'll lay this face-down" she continues "Attack!"

My monster gets grabbed by the Harpie Lady's claws and gets crushed by them. Fortunately I don't take any damage because my monster was in Defense Mode.

"Maybe you should quit right here" Mai suggests.

Again with the mind games! I know I'm only a kid, but come on!

"No way, Mai! I will win!" I say drawing my card "Go, Hyosube!"

A weird amphibian-bird-like monster appears on my field (ATK: 1500).

"Again with those sea cards" Mai says a little bit bored "What's this, a duel or an AquaDom exhibition?"

I ignore her and look at the cards in my hand, which are Turtle Tiger, Steel Shell, Boulder Tortoise, Aqua Madoor and Negate Attack. "_I've got a very powerful card in my hand_" I think "_But I can't use it now._ I place this face-down"

As I place the card on the field I see that Mai has an agitated look. Perfect! "Go, Hyosube! Attack!"

As my monster approaches Mai's, she reacts. "Sorry, but I activate my Magic Card Rose Whip, a personal favourite" she says "He gives my Harpie 300 attack points, more than enough to take out your Hyosube!"

Harpie Lady, now having 1600 attack points, grabs her new whip and hits my monster with it, causing its destruction.

**LP Richard 1900**

**LP Mai 2000**

So it was a poker face the one I saw... very clever, girl... very clever...

"Underworld King? Yeah right" Mai says "You're just a little kid who accidentally stumbled into the big leagues. But whatever, you'll learn the hard way"

"Don't forget that last time I was the victor in our duel, Mai"

"It won't happen this time" she answers as she looks at his hand "My turn, now! And I'll play these two cards face-down"

I draw my card, which is Tongyo. "_Tsk! I was hoping for a stronger card!_" I think "_Here goes nothing..._ Tongyo in Attack Mode!"

My monster appears as a blue fish with a tongue sticking out of its mouth (ATK: 1350).

Mai doesn't look too pleased. "Fine, then!" she says "Harpie Lady, Whip Lash Attack!"

As Harpie Lady approaches my monster, I reveal my face-down card. "Not so fast, Mai! I play Negate Attack!" I declare "With it, my monster is unharmed!"

Harpie Lady suddently stops.

"I came here in order to win the prize money and use them to move on with my life, I can't allow you to beat me!" I say proudly "I'm a child, and I'm alone, in this cruel world... I need to move on and I need to do it on my own!"

"Nice speech" Mai says "So nice I think I need to throw up!"

"You have no heart, Mai Valentine!" I yell to her "And I've had enough of your insults!"

I draw my card, which is Gale Lizard. "I play this in Defense Mode!" I say placing Gale Lizard on the field "And that's not all! I'm playing the Steel Shell card, which gives my Tongyo 400 points!"

My monster's attack power rises up to 1750.

"Fine with me. It's like I don't have Magic Cards too" Mai says activating her face-down card "Cyber Shield! Tell me what you think of this!"

A golden armor appears on Harpie Lady's chest.

"Now Harpie Lady's attack will be 500 points stronger!" Mai explains as Harpie Lady's attack power becomes 2100 "But wait! I'll also play this De-Spell card!"

My shell disappears from my creature, its attack returning to its original value.

"It's still my turn!" I say "I switch Tongyo to Defense Mode!"

"All right then. This means I'll attack your face-down card to demolish any hopes you've got left" Mai says smirking as Harpie Lady attacks and destroys my Gale Lizard.

"You've flipped my Gale Lizard, Mai" I say with a low tone "Which means your Harpie Lady will return to your hand, and your equipments will go to the Graveyard!"

"No matter, I'll simply Summon her again!"

This time, her Harpie Lady is on her knees, meaning is in Defense Mode (DEF: 1400).

"Now give me your best shot" she says.

I draw my card, which is Stop Defense. Perfect! "I'll switch Tongyo back to Attack Mode!" I declare "Then I use Stop Defense to force your Harpie Lady into Attack Mode as well. Now, Tongyo, attack!"

My monster uses his tongue as a whip and destroys Mai's creature.

**LP Richard 1900**

**LP Mai 1950**

Mai looks at me for a second, then glances a card in his hand, then says: "I surrender. I have no cards to win!"

I look at her with a puzzled look. "Huh? Really?"

"Harpie Lady was the best monster I had, and seen how you beated her, there's no point in me going on" she explains getting down the Duel Arena.

I take her Star Chip and approach her. "Mai"

She turns towards me as I continue. "Why did you surrender?"

"I actually know how it feels to be alone" she says sadly "I don't need those Star Chips anymore"

As she goes away I change my mind: I really wanted to tell her that I really wasn't qualified for the Finals anymore, but seeing how she "cared" for me, I don't want to be a selfish bastard right now.

I then turn towards Yugi. "You're ready for me now,?"

"Yes" he answers "I can't wait!"

* * *

><p><strong>I actually didn't plan this to happen, but I didn't think the people got the real idea of why Richard was fighting in this Tournament, so I added this filler, which pretty much is character development and relationship creation (I think it's called like that). Next is Kaiba vs. Pegasus! Until then, hasta la vista!<strong>

**PS: I thank the Guest who reviewed me.**


	8. Champion vs Creator

**Do I really have to tell during which episode this takes place? XP**

* * *

><p>As we enter the castle and reach the balcony we see... "What the hell?!"<p>

Seto Kaiba and Pegasus are in front of each other, a Duel Arena separating them.

"I thought Seto was the last finalist" I say "Why is he in front of Pegasus?!"

"This is a special match" Croquet says "They'll dispute this match and you can watch while we wait for another contender to enter the castle"

Damn it! I wanted to face Seto as well! But on the other hand I can get a peek at Pegasus's Deck, which will advantage me during the finals.

"Welcome to my castle!" Pegasus says happily "Good to see you again, Kaiba boy!"

Seto simply stares at him, hatred in his eyes. I wonder why...

"I've been waiting for the day when I could battle a proud Duelist such as yourself..." Pegasus continues "Right here in my own Duelist Kingdom"

I see Seto's fist tightening and Pegasus face becoming softer as he says: "No need to worry, Kaiba boy... once our duel is safely over, I'll give you back your dear little brother"

What?! What did he mean by that?!

"Now, Kaiba boy! Let's enjoy a great duel!"

"Let's go, Pegasus!" Kaiba says angrily.

"What kind of power does Pegasus have..." Yugi mutters.

"Damn it! I want 'em both ta lose!" Joey protests "If Pegasus loses, the entire Tournament is ruined! Let's hope to Kaiba's loserness!"

I partly agre with him: if Pegasus loses this duel I won't get a chance against him and won't get the prize money either. But on the other hand I'm concerned about Mokuba... what Pegasus did to him?

"It looks like three of four finalists have gathered in here..." Pegasus states looking at us.

As Seto looks at us as well he exclaimes smiling: "Yugi!"

"Now let's start our little game..."

"Before that, Pegasus, where's Mokuba?!"

"Never fear, Kaiba boy. You'll be allowed to see him soon" Pegasus answers "Now, about the means of our duel, I have a feeling you've brought an interesting contraption with you... something called a Duel Disk?"

As an answer Seto opens his briefcase and takes out what it seems a disk with five Card Zones. "That's right, Pegasus!" he says throwing it at Pegasus "We'll fight witht his Duel Disk! Or I won't fight at all!"

Pegasus looks at the strange object with confusion and then starts to simulate the throwing of the disk... very ballet-like (this is embarassing, I want to be honest...). "Do I throw it like this?" he asks "It looks exhausting... I'm not very good at physical sports..."

In a matter of seconds though, Pegasus's expression changes and turns into a soft smile. "How about this, then: I'll fight you with the Duel Disk... but I'll use a proxy to weild it for me"

A proxy? What the hell is he talking about?

"WHAT?!" Seto yells with anger.

"Now, now. I'll choose the cards myself! It doesn't change the fact that I'm your opponent, understand?"

"You'll use the Duel Disk and fight me one on one!"

"Now, as promised, I'll let you see Mokuba boy!"

A guard holding a handcuff appears and behind him there's... "MOKUBA!"

He doesn't answer his brother's call.

"What's the matter with him? He looks weird... and he's not responding to Kaiba!" Tea observes.

"Pegasus! What did you do to my brother?!"

Pegasus chuckles and takes out a Duel Monsters card... with Mokuba's image on it! "His body can't speak to you... because I sealed his soul in this card"

What?! How could he had done that?! I had a chance to talk with Mokuba a few times: it's the type of kid that can't have enemies, because no one can't find a motivation to come at him. Why you did this, Pegasus? Why?!

"The Mokuba in front of you is just a shell, but he has enough volition to obey me" Pegasus explains "Kaiba boy, if you can defeat me, I'll free his soul from the card"

"Oh no!" Yugi cries.

"And that brings us bak to our match. If you insist on challenging me with the Duel Disk, I nominate Mokuba boy to throw the disk in my place... or, if you don't like the idea, we can go back to my original plan and duel my way..."

Pegasus, you bastard! Seto can't fight his own brother!

"Pegasus, I'll accept your conditions! But it's I who will win!"

Seto must win. I even don't care about the prize money anymore right now. I may be a Duelist, but I'm not an asshole. Still, there's that other thing I can do...

"Look, out Kaiba! Pegasus has a Dragon Capture Jar!" Yugi interrupts my thoughts.

"Yugi! Why are ya givin' Kaiba advice?" Joey asks.

"Seto is fighting to get Mokuba's soul back" I answer "He can't lose"

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Seto 2000**

**LP Pegasus 2000**

"Well then, I'll go first!" Pegasus says drawing a card "I play Toon Alligator in Defense Mode!"

A cartoonish alligator holding an axe appears on the field (DEF: 1600).

"In addition, I will play one card face-down" Pegasus continues "That's it for me!"

"It's my turn!" Seto says drawing "I'll play a card face-down too. And then I play Rude Kaiser!"

An armed green monster appears on the field (ATK: 1800).

"Attack the Alligator!"

Rude Kaiser rushes towards Toon Alligator and slashes him with the blades on his wristbands.

"Oh no!" Pegasus cries.

"My turn is over!"

"So your card has 1800 attack points, eh... what do I do?"

Pegasus then silently draws his card and says happily: "Wow! I've got it! Here's a card that can beat you! Parrot Dragon, do your best!"

A... uhm... I actually don't know what's that... it's a parrot with dragon features, but it's very (and by "very" I mean "veeeeeeeery") creepy (ATK: 2000).

"Before that, I activate a Magic Card!" Seto declares as Parrot Dragon starts rushing towards Rude Kaiser, getting a "What?!" from Pegasus "The card I played face-down was Mesmeric Control! It will reduce your monster's attack by 800 points!"

Parrot Dragon slowly starts to sleep as its attack power becomes 1200.

"Take that!" Seto says as Rude Kaiser destroys that horrifying monstruosity. Thank you, Seto!

**LP Seto 2000**

**LP Pegasus 1400**

"Oh no..." Pegasus says.

Is he actually taking this seriously? Pegasus is really acting like a baby. I hope it's not just my immagination.

"It my turn again!" Seto says drawing another card.

I see taking a card from his hand, when all of a sudden... "STOP!"

Everyone freezes as we look at Pegasus. "Stay where you are, don't show me that card..." he says "I'm going to activate a Trap Card against the card you're about to play!"

As he says this he flips over the card he had on the field face-down. "The card I placed face-down was Prophecy!" he explains "Using this card I can predict the attack points of the card you just choose. In other words, I say whether its attack value is more, less or equal to 2000... If my hunch is right, that card is mine..."

What?! That's a very overpowered card! But on the other hand, I should have expected this from the creator of Duel Monsters

"And I predict it's more than 2000 attack points!" Pegasus declares "I predict you're about to play... the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, with 3000 attack!"

What?! How did he do that? Can he see through Seto's hand?

"Well then, I'll just take this card for myself" Pegasus says holding up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card "I never thought I'd get it!"

"If Pegasus uses that dragon, Seto's in trouble" Joey says.

He's right, and if he uses it now it could betroublesome.

"Well, then... I'll draw one more card and end my turn!"

"I put Rude Kaiser in Defense Mode and end my turn"

The green monster kneeled (DEF: 1600).

"My turn then..." Pegasus says drawing another card "I'll play one card face-down and play this card in Defense Mode: Dark Rabbit!"

A black rabbit with a very scary look (what's up with Pegasus and cute but scary monsters?) appears on the field (DEF: 1500).

"My turn is over!"

"Fine! It's my turn!" Seto says holding up two cards "Virus Combo!"

The DARK monster Saggi the Dark Clown appears on the field laughing maliciously (ATK: 600).

"I'll sacrifice Saggi to activate the Crush Card Virus that will destroy your whole deck!"

Wow! That's a very powerful combo!

"There it is!" Joey exclaims "The combo that almost defeated Yugi! If this works Pegasus will lose!"

I'm not too sure: Pegasus doesn't seems worried.

"I activate my face-down Magic Card!"

"What?!"

"And the card is... Negative Energy!" he declares "This card doubles the attack of all DARK monsters, including yours! In other words, your Clown's attack value jumps to 1200..."

Crud! The Crush Card Virus only works with monsters that have less than 1000 attack points! Now Seto has wasted the Virus!

"And that's not all..." Pegasus continues "My Dark Rabbit also is a DARK monster, of course! Its attack power doubles too!"

The rabbit's attack becomes 2200.

"Now, Rabbit, destroy the Dark Clown!"

Dark Rabbit charges a punch (get it? Rabbit Punch!) and hit Saggi the Dark Clown, destroying it.

**LP Seto 1000**

**LP Pegasus 1400**

"Pegasus is reading Kaiba's mind!" Yugi declares.

"What?" I exclaim "How the hell can he do that?"

"It's a long story" Yugi answers.

"How ya beat someone like that?" Joey asks.

"I won't believe it!" Kaiba says drawing "I play Battle Ox in Defense Mode. It's your move"

The minotaurus-like monster appears on the field (DEF: 1000).

"My turn, eh..." Pegasus says "Say, Kaiba boy, do you like cartoons?"

Seto doesn't answer.

"I take it that means "no"... well, not me... I love them! I remember when I watched Funny Bunny every saturday morning! All those great characters running around all over the TV! They were my best friends back then!"

All of a sudden Pegasus turns very serious as he says: "To this day, they run around in the little garden inside my heart... they never betray me... and they can never die..."

He then holds up a card. "And now, Kaiba... I'll invite you to that world... Toon World!"

As he places the card on the Duel Arena a giant cartoonish book appears on the field.

"What da heck is that?" Joey asks "It looks like a pop-up book! I've nevah seen a card like that before!"

I focus once again on the field and I discover that Dark Rabbit has disppeared.

"Where'd it go?" Seto was saying.

"My cards are all Toon cards" Pegasus explains "They live in Toon World. If you don't see them, they must be hiding..."

Hiding? Is that card even legal?

"Just wait... you'll see them soon enough..." Pegasus continues "Dark Rabbit... are you there?"

All of a sudden from the book Dark Rabbit comes out with a much creepier look than before.

"Toon Attack! Battle Ox goes down!"

Dark Rabbit delivers a punch to Battle Ox, destroying it, gives a laugh and disappears in the book once again, which closes.

"Well, well... my shy little rabbit went back into the picture book again..." Pegasus states "Once Toon World is closed, he's out of harm's way!"

"How is he supposed to fight back?!" both me and Yugi say.

"For my turn..." Seto says drawing a card "I'll play one card face-down. I'm done"

Pegasus chuckles. "It's my turn, isn't it? Let me show you something interesting, Kaiba boy" he says holding up the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card "This is the Blue-Eyes I got from you... see what happens when I play it!"

The book opens again and a cartoonish version of Blue-Eyes appears on the field (ATK: 3000).

"It's a Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon!" Pegasus declares before turning serious again "All my monsters become residents of Toon World... What do you think? It's much more lovable than before, isn't it?"

Afterwards, he declares: "Toon Attack!" and Rude Kaiser gets blown away by Blue-Eyes's attack.

"I feel anger in your heart..."

"Pegasus! It seems like you know already what cards I have, so I'm going to discard my entire hand!" Seto declares doing said action.

Is he crazy?! What is he thinking?!

"Instead of waiting for you to tell me what I'm going to play, I'm going to draw one card at a time from the top of my Deck... Even I don't know what card it is... In other words: you don't know either... And I'll play it in Attack Mode!"

A very reckless decision, I hope he knows what he's doing.

"Watch this!" he then says drawing the card and placing it on the field "The card I had faith was... my Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"

The second Blue-Eyes card appears on the field (ATK: 3000).

"You say you feel my anger... I'll show you what anger really is!"

Blue-Eyes starts charging its White Lightning Attack.

"They're even" Joey states "That means they'll both be destroyed, right?"

But to our surprise the Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon dodges the attack, getting a "What?!" from Seto.

"As a side note, there were 583 episodes of Funny Bunny... According to someone who counted, Funny Bunny's rival, Ruff Ruff McDogg, fired over 26,000 bullets at our hero, but none of them ever hit him! It's a miracle!" Pegasus explains "As long as Toon World is on the field, every card I play becomes a cartoon! Nothing can hurt or destroy a Toon. They are the perfect life forms!"

"What kind of game designer is he?!" Joey protests "That card is too overpowered!"

"Yugi, did you know about those Toon cards?" I ask.

"No, I didn't" he answers "Those cards aren't circulated to the general public: they're one of a kind"

"Well then, it's my turn!" Pegasus says drawing "I'll play this card on the field! Shine Palace!"

Toon World's pages start to turn until they stop and a brighty palace appears.

"Toon World is infinite! The book is merely a gateway to that plane of existence!" Pegasus states "And now the LIGHT monster Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon, receives a 500 attack points boost!"

Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon starts pumping up as its attack power increases to 3500.

"Pegasus's Toon Dragon got stronger than Kaiba's Blue-Eyes!" Yugi says.

"Blue-Eyes Toon Dragon attacks with White Lightning!"

As the dragon fires its attack Seto states: "I activate the card I placed face-down! Negate Attack!"

"Yes! He blocked Pegasus's attack!" both me and Yugi say.

"It's my turn!" Seto says drawing "Shadow Spell!"

All of a sudden chains start to wrap over Toon Dragon's body, reducing its attack to 2800.

"Even your stupid rubbery dragon can't squirm out of the shadow chains!" Seto states "Prepare yourself! White Lightning!"

Blue-Eyes White Dragon fires its attack and his cheap imitation is destroyed.

**LP Seto 1000**

**LP Pegasus 1200**

"You have a good mind, Kaiba boy" Pegasus says "Just now I felt your love for the Blue-Eyes card in your heart... As a game designer, that is the greatest compliment. Thank you, Kaiba boy"

He then draws his card and places it on the field. "Dragon Capture Jar!"

Here it is! The brown jar appears on the field (DEF: 200). All of a sudden Seto's Blue-Eyes get sucked into the Jar, whose defense points increase to 2700.

"The Jar gains the defense points of the dragon it absorbs..." Pegasus explains.

"It's my turn!" Seto says drawing "I Summon Swordstalker in Defense Mode!"

A purple demonic-like warrior appears on the field (DEF: 1600).

"My turn again" Pegasus says drawing his own card "I'll play this face-down card on the field and Summon this: Dragon Piper in Defense Mode!"

A weird looking genie appears on the field (DEF: 1800).

"I get it!" I yell "He's planning on setting free Seto's Blue-Eyes!"

"Exactly!" Pegasus says "On my next turn I'll bring back Kaiba boy's dragon and it will become a Toon!"

"I'll never let that happens! I'll crush your measly Dragon Piper first!" Seto says "Attack, Swordstalker!"

Swordstalker rushes towards Dragon Piper as Pegasus declares: "I play the Magic Card Doppelganger! This card can change itself into any card you played in the whole game. And the card it's going to copy is... your Crush Card Virus! I infect Dragon Piper!"

Oh no! Seto can't block its attack! The virus will spread into its entire deck!

He draws his last card, which is Reborn the Monster. "I bring back Saggi the Dark Clown with it"

"You have the courage to play out the game to the better end. Very good..." Pegasus says " If I defeat that card on my next turn, all of your cards are gone and I win..."

He then selects a card from his hand. A giant jack-in-the-box monster called Bicuribox appears on the field (ATK: 2300). The creature then attacks and destroys Saggi. Kaiba lost.

* * *

><p><strong>Finally I did it! I was planning to post this on the 29th, but I didn't make it. No matter. It's here now ^_^ I thank once again the guest who reviewed me and I wish everybody a happy new year! Hasta la vista!<strong>


	9. Calm before storm

**The following takes place during the last part of **_**Champion vs. Creator**_** and **_**The Night Before**_**.**

* * *

><p>Seto ran out of cards! Even though he still has Life Points he can't keep playing! He lost!<p>

"Kaiba boy, you're a smart lad… You know what stakes I play for, don't you?" Pegasus asks while taking a card from his pocket "In this game, losers lose everything that is most precious them… and even more… they lose their own souls…"

In a matter of seconds Seto blinks and then falls unconscious to the table.

"SETO!" I shout trying to wake him up. He doesn't answer.

"Remove the corpse" Pegasus orders as Mokuba gets taken away as well as Seto's body.

"Now Kaiba's in a card too…" Joey states.

I see Yugi shaking with anger. "Kaiba risked his life to duel… to get Mokuba back…"

In a matter of seconds I see him looking at Pegasus with a very cold look. "Pegasus! I won't forgive you for this! I promise I'll defeat you!"

"Oh, Yugi boy, I'm so glad you care…" Pegasus answers "But you'll have to win the championship tournament to earn the right to fight me!"

"I know that! But get ready! I won't be satisfied until I destroy you!"

Pegasus seems to ignore him and instead announces: "Now that the last finalist came I tell you that the championship tournament is tomorrow morning! It will be held here in this arena! Out of four Duelists, only one of you will have the glory of facing me in battle!"

I'm curious to see who's the fourth final-"MAI?!"

"Surprised?" she asks while standing in front of me.

"Kinda" I admit "How did you manage to win this fast?"

"I actually had five spare Star Chips, so I could enter anyway"

"Then why did you duel me?"

"Meh, just for fun…"

"Duelists!" one of Pegasus's henchman interrupts us "To enter the finals with Pegasus you will need the special cards which were sent with your original invitation! Even if you are a winner, those without cards will be disqualified! Is that clear?"

I hold up the two cards I found in the tape: The Glory of the King's Hand and The Glory of the King's Opposite. The first one allows me to win the prize money, while the second allows me to make a wish Pegasus must oblige.

"Well then, my fair Duelists…" Pegasus says while leaving "I'll see you tomorrow back there!"

"All right… from now on we're enemies!" Mai states "The time for friends is over!"

She then starts walking away "Yugi, Joey, Richard… good luck!"

"Oh man…" I hear Joey curse "What am I gonna do? I don't have those cards… I can't win…"

I see Yugi looking at him. "Joey! We have to make it to the final round!"

"Yeah!" he answers "But there's a problem… I don't have da card…"

"Joey… when we arrived on the island, we split one person's Star Chips between us, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Then this card belongs to you!"

What?! Is he really giving Joey The Honor of the King's Hand?!

"If we advance to the championship, you take the prize! Take it for Serenity!"

Serenity? Who is that?

"And I'll take this card and beat Pegasus to get grandpa back!" Yugi says holding The Glory of the King's Opposite.

His grandpa? Has he been kidnapped by Pegasus as well? I don't know, but it's not my business. I look at them. "I hate to admit it, but Mai's right, guys"

They focus their attention on me as I continue. "We are in a tournament and we cannot be defeated! Neither of us can afford this! I need money in order to survive in the world, Joey needs the money for that Serenity you were talking about and Yugi needs to save his grandpa. So I'll tell you right now: the moment we clash, I won't show you any mercy! I'll show you the power of the Underground King!"

They both nod. "You're right!" Yugi answers "We'll do the best we can. Also, I won't hold back either!"

I look at him with fervor as he does and then I start walking away.

* * *

><p>As I head towards my room I hear a smell coming from a near room. I'm kinda hungry so I decide to take a look, and after a few steps I reach a room and open the door: I see a huge table filled with any kind of food, Mai already on her seat. "Hey, Richard!"<p>

"Hey" I answer as I sit down on my own "Listen… I need to be honest with you: when we dueled I… I really wasn't qualified for the finals yet"

She remains silent and looks at me.

"I needed to get into the castle and I decided to deceive the first Duelist I would have encountered. I feel kinda guilty thinking it had to be you…"

"Hey, it's OK" she says "I told you I had spare Star Chips, so that doesn't bug me off. Still I'm happy both of us reached the finals"

"It's better for you to place more monsters in your Deck along with your Harpie Lady, Mai" I say to her "I don't know them, but I dueled you twice already, so I do know your weak points very well by now"

"Don't worry, I'm planning a new strategy just for you as we get dueling once more" she answers.

I look at her with a puzzled look so she continues. "Counting the duels I had so far the ones I had against you were the one that taught me the most lessons. Sure I dueled Joey as well, but you are different"

"What do you mean?"

"They always talk about friendship and stuff but you, even though you're their friend… because you're their friend, right?"

"Kinda"

"Anyways, for being twelve years old, you are very mature: you taught me that there are various ways of taking care of yourself instead of just treating other people as brats and be an egotistical bitch"

"Glad you got that"

She smiles, but a second later she shouts: "DID YOU JUST AGREED TO THE 'EGOTISTICAL BITCH' PART?!"

I start laughing my butt off as the main door opens and Yugi and his friends enter.

"Wow! That's a nice spread!" Joey comments seeing all the food "All right then… I guess I'll let Pegasus feed me!"

"This is the first time they've fed us properly!" Tea protests.

"Hurry up and sit down, guys!" Mai says with a slightly annoyed look.

"Yeah, we've been waiting for you in order to eat. Plus the soup will get cold!"

"Whoops! Mah bad!" Joey says.

"Those of you who are in the championship tournament, please sit here…" Croquet says showing a couple of chair to Yugi and Joey, while Joey, Bakura (I learnt his name while entering) and Tristan sit in front of us (Tea sits near Yugi).

As we start eating I see Tristan doesn't eat. Apparently Joey has noticed as well as he asks him what's up.

"Yugi…" Tristan says "I want to ask you… Can you save the Kaiba brothers?"

Everyone stares at him but don't speak.

"I know if you think about the things they did to us, it's sickening…"

"But still… I owe Mokuba! That kid saved my life at Death-T!"

"Death-T?! What the hell is that?" I ask.

"Long story" Joey cuts short "Still they got what they deserved! There's no need ta help them!"

"Joey! You're fighting for your sister! Don't you realize that's just like Kaiba?"

So that Serenity is actually Joey's sister? Cool.

"You know I have a nephew" Tristan continues "He's a total brat and a weirdo… but if his life's in danger, I'll protect him! I don't care what I have to do!"

Those words make me think of Mako... At this point I need to step in. "I may don't know about this Death-T thing you're talking about or what Seto has done to you. But I know him since we were little"

I see them looking at me with strange looks. "OK: more little!" I protest "Still, knowing him I know he's now that bad"

"Richard! Ya don't know what he's really like!" Joey suddenly shouts.

"Whatever, just keep your pants on…" I say a little bit offended.

"Mokuba and Seto had their souls sealed inside Pegasus's cards…" Yugi says "If that seal can be broken… there's a chance"

Tristan looks at him with a smile.

"But I can only help with the cards" Yugi continues "If their soulless bodies are confined somewhere, it might be harder to set them free…"

I see Tristan looking at me. I think I got what he's thinking. I slightly nod at him so that nobody can see us.

"Whatevah!" Joey says starting his own soup.

As he puts his spoon in the liquid, something pops out of it. "Nyeeah!" he shouts "What the heck is this?!"

"It's an eyeball!" I answer as it pops out of my soup as well "Either someone has bad taste in food here or is a fan of Marilyn Manson…"

"It's in my soup too!" Mai shouts as he catches it with her teeth before swallowing it. I take it from her mouth so that she doesn't get her mouth damaged and I place it near her dish.

"IIIITTTT'S SHOW TIME!" Pegasus's voice says as his face appears on a screen "Hello, everybody! How do you like my favorite soup?"

"Thanks for the meal, jerk!" Joey protests "I knew it was poison! They always say it's not poison!"

"I got to agree with Joey here" I add "Who was cooking? Hannibal Lecter?"

"Oh, that! That's part of tonight's main dish!" Pegasus explains "The heart-pounding tournament entrée bingo game!"

"Tournament bingo?!" Mai asks.

"What's that?!" Joey follows.

"All the participants in the championship tournament should have been given a replica Millennium Eye!" Pegasus answers.

"A what?" I ask holding up the gross little toy.

"Now! Crack that Eye open!"

I place the eye on the table and slam it with my fist, leaving only pieces of the shell and… a piece of paper with the letter "A" on it.

"D'ya always have ta be so theatrical?" Joey asks.

"Shut up" I answer.

"A piece o' paper with "D" written on it!" the Brooklyn boy stated looking at the content inside his own Eye.

"Mine says "B"!" Mai declares.

"Now then… time to announce the order of play!"

As Pegasus says those words the screen shows that the one with the letter "A" has to fight "B" and "C" must fight "D". I have to face Mai! Again! On the other hand it will be interesting because Yugi and Joey will fight each other.

"That's it! The soup never lies! I look forward to the tournament !" Pegasus says "See you tomorrow!"

The screen then disappears as Croquet says: "It's time to call it a night… we will now show you to your rooms! Mr. Richard, you know your way"

"Yes, thank you Croquet"

* * *

><p>A few minutes later I'm on the bed. But I'm not sleeping: I'm arranging my Deck. Tomorrow I have to do everything I need in order to defeat everyone and get through Pegasus. Now that I think about it, I do know Mai's strategy, so I can easily build my Deck in order to counter hers… Wait! She said she would have changed her strategy, so never mind. On the other hand I can focus on Pegasus: that Toon World card is very powerful, but thanks to my Magical Neutralizing Force Field I can easily destroy it, and thanks to Shadow Spell I can block his Toons while I wait for it. Next is that Dragon Capture Jar: my Daedalus is a Dragon, so it could be easily affected by the Jar, along with Mystic Piper. And the other thing is his trick on seeing the opponent's cards… To be fair, I don't know what to do about it: it could counter any moves I do! I must vary my strategies as more as possible. Let's see what I can do…<p>

A half an hour later, I'm done with my deck. I look at it one last time. "_This should do_" I think "_Tomorrow I will face Mai first, then probably Yugi, and then Pegasus. I won't underestimate any of them. But it's better for them not to underestimate me, 'cause I am at my full power!_"

* * *

><p><strong>And cut! That was very good! I'm truly sorry I hadn't posted anything for a while, but when it comes to school you need to give priority to your own responsibility. FYI, I'm very sorry if I offended Marilyn Manson with that joke: I don't know Marilyn Manson too much to say anything, but I thought it was funny to make that joke, so please don't shout at me. Now, for those of you who were wondering: yes, the Death-T is canon because I'm mixing up things. For the only people that hadn't read the manga, Death-T is an exclusive ark that is prior to Duelist Kingdom that takes place in the manga. I, in fact, mixing anime and manga facts to make the story more thrilling. Next time will be Richard VS Mai… for the third friggin' time! Don't worry, I've prepared something special for this duel. I hope you'll like it and I do hope you liked this chapter as well, even though no duels occurred. Hasta la vista!<strong>


	10. New strategies

**The following takes place during **_**Duel Identity**_**.**

* * *

><p>It's finally morning! I couldn't sleep last night, I'm too hyped! I take my Deck and go out of the room.<p>

* * *

><p>I meet with Mai in the same room Seto dueled Pegasus and she says: "Good morning..."<p>

"Morning!" I answer happily.

"So, Richard. The time to decide who's the strongest in this island has come!"

"Not quite" I answer "We have to wait for Yugi and Joey first"

Speaking of the devil, they enter the room two seconds later.

"Welcome, proud Duelists!" Pegasus announces after being appeared from nowhere "Welcome to this holy place sanctified by our duels!"

God, and they say I am theatrical.

"The championship tournament will begin now!" the Duel Monsters creator continues "The one who survives the tournament will be given the prize of champions! Let me give you a preview!"

Two of Pegasus's henchman bring out a chest containing... "A prize of $200,000!"

"Holy-" I say in amazement.

"Hold on!" one of the henchman says "You don't get this prize just by beating the other three finalists! You have to beat Mr. Pegasus, the ruler of Duelist Kingdom!"

"I wonder who will defeat me?" Pegasus says chuckling "I'm looking forward to it!"

"Thr first round fight is..." Croquet announces "Richard Tsunami VS. Mai Valentine!"

Both of us approach the Dueling Arena.

"Before we begin, please show me your cards proving your right to duel"

We both look at Croquet and show our copies of The Glory of the King's Hand and The Glory of the King's Opposite.

"Very good" he says.

"Are you ready, Richard?" Mai asks.

"I was born ready!" I answer.

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Mai 2000**

"I go first!" Mai says drawing "I Summon Harpie Lady!"

Her harpy appears on the field with grace (ATK: 1300).

"_Harpie Lady, as usual_" I think "_I thought she would have changed her strategy... Let's see what she does next..._"

"I'm not done yet" she says picking up a card from her hand "I'm playing a card face-down!"

I glance at the last card on the left in my hand, which is Turtle Bird. "My card is Turtle Bird!"

My monster appears as a turtle with bat-like wings (ATK: 1900).

"Attack Harpie Lady!"

My monster starts to charge towards Harpie Lady, but I see a reaction in Mai's face as she says: "Silly kid... I play the Trap Card Mirror Wall!"

All of a sudden a huge mirror-like barrier appears between Harpie Lady and Turtle Bird.

"As soon as you attack, this shimmering mirror blocks your monster" Mai explains.

I then see that Turtle Bird gets reflected in the mirror.

"And as a result, Turtle Bird's attack points are cut in half!" Mai continues.

My monster stops as its attack power goes down to 950.

"Now it's my turn" Mai says drawing a card "I'm playing an Equip Magic Card on my Harpie! Cyber Shield!"

Harpie Lady gets sorrounded by a white aura as a golden armor appears covering her torso, her attack points increasing to 1800. She then went towards Turtle Bird and destroyed it.

**LP Richard 1150**

**LP Mai 2000**

"So much for your Turtle Bird!" Mai mocks me "When Harpie Lady wears the Cyber Shield, she's stronger than ever. Add that to Mirror Wall cutting Turtle Bird's attack power in half... and you're no match for my trap! Looks like you underestimated me!"

I actually didn't. I knew she had a Trap Card up on her sleeves: I was just curious to see her improvements. The real match starts now.

"It's your turn!" she says "Don't waste it!"

I silently draw my card, which is Giga Gagagigo. "I'll play one card face-down" I declare "And then I play this! Giga Gagagigo!"

A reptilian monster with a silver armor appears on the field (ATK: 2450).

"Attack the Harpie Lady!"

"You fell for it again!" Mai says holding up Mirror Wall.

All of a sudden the giant mirror appears on the field, reducing my monster's attack power to 1225. But she didn't placed any card face-down last turn. Unless... Mirror Wall is a Continuous Trap Card!

"It's my turn, then" Mai says drawing another card "Instead of attacking... I'm going to play this card! Harpie's Feather Duster!"

My face-down card, which is Shadow Spell, gets destroyed by Mai's card.

"That was a good read" I admit placing the card in the Graveyard.

"I'm a cautious player" she answers chuckling.

"It's my turn, now!" I declare drawing "_As long as Mirror Wall is on the field, I can't attack._ I'll switch Giga Gagagigo to Defense Mode!"

My monstr kneeled down (DEF: 1500).

"Then I play Misairuzame in Defense Mode!"

A green shark with a torpedo on its belly appears on my field (DEF: 1600).

"Is there any way for you to win without attacking? I wonder..." she mocks me "Now back to me... I play another Equip Magic Card on my Harpie Lady! Electro Whip!"

Her Harpie Lady grabs a spiked whip as her attack goes up to 2100.

"_I get it now! She'll power up her Harpie Lady using Mirror Wall as a shield!_" I think.

"Punish that Misairuzame, Harpie Lady!"

Her monster hits mine with her new whip and destroys it. Fortunately it was in Defense Mode, so I don't take any damage.

"I play Tongyo in Defense Mode!"

A blue weird fish with its tongue stucked out appears on the field (DEF: 800).

"_Unless I eliminate her Trap Card, she'll win by attrition!_" I think.

"My turn again!" she says as she draws her new card "With this card, my Harpie Combo is 70% complete. It's not at full power but it looks like it's enough to defeat you! Here goes! Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

A giant red dragon appears on her field (ATK: 2000), its attack quickly jumping to 2300 because of the fact that there's a Harpie Lady on the field.

"_No! Not that!_" I think.

"Go, Dragon! Destroy Giga Gagagigo!"

Harpie's Pet Dragon spits out from his mouth a fireball and hits my Giga Gagagigo, destroying it.

I silently draw my card, which is Levia-Dragon – Daedalus. It can easily beat that Harpie's Pet Dragon, but there's Mirror Wall still on the field. I glance at the fist card on the right in my hand, which is Malevolent Catastrophe, a Trap Card that instantly destroys every monster Mai controls the moment it attacks.

"_I'll play a Trap for a Trap!_" I'll think as I place Malevolent Catastrophe face-down "I Summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus in Defense Mode!"

My ace monster appears on the field (DEF: 1500).

"It's my turn!" Mai declares drawing her card "For my next card... I play Shadow of Eyes!"

Shadow of Eyes? What kind of card is that?

"If you want to know what it does, just look at your Daedalus" Mai says.

I see in horror that my monster has switched to Attack Mode (ATK: 2600). The worst part is that its attacking Harpie Lady!

"Of course attacking activates Mirror Wall!" she reminds me as my monster's attack went down to 1300 "And now I'll play this card again! Harpie's Feather Duster! I don't like the look of that face-down card, so I'm destroying it"

Malevolent Catastrophe gets destroyed in front of my eyes.

"Now, Pet Dragon, attack once more! Fearsome Fireblast!"

My ace monster gets destroyed like it was nothing.

**LP Richard 150**

**LP Mai 2000**

"So, what do you think of my Harpie Combo?" Mai asks.

I've got more problems to resolve that praising Mai's combo: I'm down to my last chunk of Life Points and she still has all of hers. What can I do?

I close my eyes as I draw my new card. As I see it a smile appears on my face. "First I Summon Island Turtle!"

A giant turtle whose shell is full of trees appears on my field (ATK: 1100).

I then take the card I drew at the start of my turn. "I now activate the Magic Card Allegro Toile!"

"Allegro Toile?" Mai parrots.

"Yes" I answer "It's a handy Magic Card that destroys a Magic or a Trap card once I Summon a monster from my hand. So say goodbye to your Mirror Wall!"

A winged dagger appears on my field. Said dagger then charges to Mirror Wall and destroys it.

"I then follow up with the Magic Card Order to Charge!" I continue "By sacrificing the Normal Monster Island Turtle I can destroy Harpie's Pet Dragon! So, Tongyo, charge!"

My monster charges towards Harpie's Pet Dragon and explodes at the contact, destroying both of them in the process.

Mai seems a little bit frightened but still draws her card. "I won't attack this turn" she says "I still have the advantage even if I don't attack this round. Instead, I'll play Elegant Egotist!"

All of a sudden two more Harpie Ladies appear on the field (ATK: 2100).

"Harpie Lady Sisters!"

"On my turn I play a Magic Card" I say "Monster Recovery! I shuffle my hand along with the monsters on my field into the Deck and draw 5 new cards"

I glance at my new hand, which contains Steel Shell, Water of Life, Zarigun, Turtle Tiger and Fairy of the Fountain. "_None of these cards can defeat the Harpie Lady Sisters!_" I think "_What do I do?_"

"My Harpies together hold a record of 6300 attack points" Mai explains "Plus, my Shadow of Eyes forces your monsters to Attack Mode. You lost!"

Hold on a second! Of course! "Mai, I'll play this card! Fairy of the Fountain in Defense Mode!"

A green skinned woman holding a jar appears on my field (DEF: 1100).

"No way! How can it be in Defense Mode?" Mai asks "Shadow of Eyes should... Wait a minute!"

"That's right!" I say smirking "Shadow of Eyes unleashes pheromones, which are chemicals that attract the opposite sex. It cannot attract women, like my Fairy of the Fountain! My turn is over!"

"You're tenacious!" Mai states as she draws a card "But your struggle will end! On my turn I play Reborn the Monster to bring back Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

The red dragon appears once again, this time with 2900 attack points.

"Now for my Harpie Ladies' attack, I'll play Triangle Ecstasty Spark!" she continues "Burn that Fairy to ashes!"

All three Harpies unleash a triangle-like beam that destroys my Fairy of the Fountain.

"Now it's your last turn! Get ready!" Mai says.

Everything lies on the card I'll draw. Please be a good card!

"I better think of a way to spend the prize money!" Mai says "First I'll take a trip around the Mediterrain, and then..."

But her thoughts are stopped by the little monster appeared on my field: Gora Turtle (ATK: 1100).

"Mai, because of this monster, all monsters with 1900 or more attack can no longer attack!" I explain.

"I can't do anything then, for now" she answers "I'll pass my turn"

I glance at my hand. "_I need to draw __those__ cards. It's the only way!_ It's my turn!" I say as I draw my card, which is Polymerization "_No! This isn't the one! _I play Water of Life to bring back Turtle Bird!"

The weird turtle monster appears on my field again.

"My turn!" Mai says drawing and passing.

I silently draw my card and I place it face-down on the field. "I Summon Zarigun!"

A bipedal crawfish appears on my field (ATK: 600).

Mai draws her card and passes again.

I draw my card and, as I see it, I smirk. "With this card I gathered all the pieces for my victory!" I declare "Activate face-down card Turtle Oath!"

A giant green shell appears on the field as Gora Turtle, Zarigun and Turtle Shell enters inside it. All of a sudden a red and purple crab-like body starts to form inside the shell as my new monster appears on the field (ATK: 2550).

"Crab Turtle!" I declare "Now I'm ready! I use Steel Shell, to increase its attack by 400 more points, then I'll attack Harpie's Pet Dragon!"

Crab Turtle charged towards Mai's dragon and crushed it.

**LP Richard 150**

**LP Mai 1950**

"My Harpie's Pet Dragon..." Mai says in horror.

I then see her sadly place her hand on her deck: she's giving up! "I don't want to see my Harpies injured" she explains.

"Mai... thank you for the great duel"

She winks at me as she leaves.

* * *

><p><strong>Aaaaaand it's over! Hope you liked it! It was very fun to write this, and I did it in only 1 hour and 40 minutes, which is less than my usual time in writing chapters. Also, I want to thank Cloud4012 for reviewing my last chapter. Next is Yugi VS. Joey. Until then, hasta la vista!<strong>


	11. Unespected turn of events

**The following takes place during **_**Best of Friends, Best of Duelists**_**.**

* * *

><p>I slowly get up from the table and reach Yugi and his friends.<p>

"That was a very good duel" Yugi comments.

"Thank you" I answer "You'll be next so don't disappoint me"

He looks at me with a determined look and I do the same. He then looks at Joey saying: "Will you leave the rest to me?"

What the... Is he really asking Joey to give up on their duel?!  
>"If we duel we'll expose to Pegasus our tacticts more than we must. I guess it could only hurt..."<p>

I see Joey looking at Yugi with a confused look. "Yugi... I know you're da only person who can defeat Pegasus... But still... can I really weigh you down with mah baggage? Ya'r already fightin' for yarself and yo' grandpa! D'ya really want ta fight for me?"

"Of course" he answers "I'll win because I fight for you. Just like you fought for your sister"

Joey silently handed over the partecipation card to Yugi and then looked away.

"Very touching, really" I admit "But first, Yugi, you have to go through me before you reach Pegasus!"

He looks at me with a smirk. "I've been waiting for this moment for a very long time..."

I smirk as well. "So do I. Are you ready?"

"Of course!"

"LET'S DUEL!"

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Yugi 2000**

"I'll start thing off!" Yugi declared drawing a card.

"Bring it on!" I tease him.

"I Summon Celtic Guardian in Attack Mode!"

The elf swordsman appears on the field with its sword ready (ATK: 1400).

"Now it's your turn, Richard!"

"Here I come!" I say drawing my own card "I Summon Emperor of the Land and Sea in Attack Mode!"

The green reptilian monster appears on my field roaring (ATK: 1800).

"Attack with Breath of Fire!"

My monster fires a flaming attack from its mouth and hits Celtic Guardian, destroying it.

**LP Richard 2000**

**LP Yugi 1600**

"Come on, Yugi! I know you can do better than that!"

I just hope he falls for my provocations: if he Summons his best monsters first and I'm able to take them down, it will be easier for me to win.

"My turn!" Yugi says drawing "I Summon Gaia the Fierce Knight in Attack Mode!"

A blue armored knight on top of a purple steed appears on the field (ATK: 2300).

"Attack with Spiral Shaver!"

The knight grabbed its red spear and stabbed my monster, destroying it.

**LP Richard 1500**

**LP Yugi 1600**

"Yeah, that's what I'm talkin'about!" I say as I draw my card "I Summon Takriminos in Defense Mode!"

A green sea serpents appears on my field guarding itself (DEF: 1200).

I see Yugi smiling as he draws his new card. "I Summon Summoned Skull in Attack Mode!"

The giant demon appears on the field (ATK: 2500). It suddently summons lightning from the air and destroys my monster.

"I was waiting for this moment, Yugi!" I declare "The time you would have brought out your Summoned Skull! I Summon 7 Colored Fish!"

The enormous fish appears on the field, its body shining (ATK: 1800).

"What's the meaning of this?" he asks.

"I use the Magic Card Mirror's Curse!" I declare holding up the card "This card allows me to switch my monster's attack and defense points with yours' until the end of the turn!"

"What?!"

A demonic mirror appears between our two monsters, one side reflecting Summoned Skull and the other 7 Colored Fish. All of a sudden the mirror's glass turns, the monsters facing the other's reflection, and 7 Colored Fish's attack becomes 2500, while Summoned Skull's becomes 1800.

"Here I come!" I exclaim in order to prepare Yugi "7 Colored Fish attacks Summoned Skull!"

7 Colored Fish fires a rainbow beam from his mouth and destroys Summoned Skull as the attack collides with it.

**LP Richard 1500**

**LP Yugi 900**

"So your Takriminos was just a bait in order to lure out Summoned Skull..." Yugi comments "That's not bad"

"Heh... Thank you, I guess"

"Now it's my turn! I Summon Curse of Dragon!"

The serpentine yellow dragon appears on the field (ATK: 2000). Wait a minute! He has Gaia the Fierce Knight on the field... and now Curse of Dragon as well... Is he trying to Summon-

"And now with Polymerization I fuse Curse of Dragon and Gaia!"

I knew it!

"Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

Gaia's steed disappears and the knight goes up to Curse of Dragon's back (ATK: 2600).

"Gaia the Dragon Champion, destroy 7 Colored Fish!"

Gaia rushes towards my monster and hits it with its spears. Unfortunately, Mirror's Curse effect has ended, I lose 600 Life Points.

**LP Richard 900**

**LP Yugi 900**

Now we're even!

"Come on!" he teases me "Try and defeat my Gaia the Dragon Champion!"

I focus my attention on my hand, which contains Polymerization, Akihiron, Shadow Spell and Levia-Dragon – Daedalus. Right now, the latter is the only monster in my hand that can stand up to Gaia. But they have the same attack points, meaning they'll both be destroyed if they'll collide. The only thing I can do is power up Daedalus. I silently draw: Steel Shell! Perfect!

"I Summon Levia-Dragon – Daedalus!"

My ace monster appears on the field (ATK: 2600).

"Next I use the Magic Card Steel Shell to increase its power by 400 points!"

My monster roars as its attack raises up to 3000. I see Yugi tremble in fear.

"Daedalus, take down Gaia the Dragon Champion! Water Blast Cannon!"

My ace monster fires the attack against Gaia and destroys it.

**LP Richard 900**

**LP Yugi 500**

"Now things are getting interesting..." Yugi comments smirking as I imitate his smirk.

He draws silently. "This turn I'll use this card" he declares placing it on the field "Dark Magician!"

Yugi's ace monster appears on the field (ATK: 2500).

"It finally came out..." I say "But it cannot compete against my Daedalus!"

"I'm well aware of that. I activate the Magic Card Magical Hats!"

All of a sudden four hats appear on the field, conceiling Yugi's field, along with Dark Magician.

"So, which hat will contain the Dark Magician?" he teases me.

I decide to fire at the second on the left... but I miss.

"Too bad" he says "There're still three of them"

"This means I'll take some time. I Summon Akihiron in Attack Mode!"

A weird sea creature appears on my field (ATK: 1700). I'll use this as a bait in order to lure out Dark Magician, so that I can use my Daedalus to destroy it once and for all.

"I'll simply place one card face-down and end with that" Yugi declares.

Oooookay, he didn't take the bait. Let's change plan, then.

"Attack, Daedalus!"

This time I fire the second on the right... and I miss again! Now two hats remains: one has Dark Magician, the other an unknown card, probably a Trap Card.

As Yugi passes his turn, I launch my attack, this time aiming for the leftmost one. From said hat a hexagram comes out and traps my monster, its attack power going down to 2300.

"Spellbinding Circle" Yugi explains "With it your monster's attack decrease!"

"In this case I switch Agathion to Defense Mode!"

"Then it's my turn" he declares drawing a card "Are you ready? I play Book of Secret Arts to increase Dark Magician's attack by 300!"

Dark Magician's attack rises up to 2800. Yugi then declares battle and Dark Magician destroys Daedalus with its Dark Magic Attack.

**LP Richard 400**

**LP Yugi 500**

I look to the floor for a second, then I place my hand on top of the deck and look at Yugi. "I realized something" I say to him "I can't win against you. I give up"

"WHAT?!" everybody but Yugi yells.

"Yes, what's the point of continuing a fight if you know it's already over? Yugi just beat my most powerful monster. There is no way I can continue. Just promise me one thing: defeat Pegasus and become the King!"

He looks at me and smiles. "I will do more than that" he says taking my partecipation card "I'll use this to collect the money for you as well!"

I look at him confused.

"By winning I can make a wish, two with your card" Yugi explains "I'll us emy second wish to give you the money you need!"

I stare at him surprised before looking at the ground and starting to cry. "Why... are you doing this?" I ask.

"Because we are your friends" Tea steps in "And we support each other"

"You...are my... friends?" I ask.

"Of course!" she says "Why else did you won those Star Chips for Mai before? Or when you divided your win against Mako? I know you feel it inside!"

I close my eyes and smile. "Thank you very much. I appreciate it"

Yugi returns the smile before looking towards Pegasus with a serious look.

* * *

><p><strong>Fan-made cards:<strong>

**Mirror's Curse  
>Quick-Play Spell Card<br>Effect: Select 1 monster you control and 1 your opponent controls. Switch those monster's ATK and DEF until the end of the turn.**

**And this is the end of this chapter! I know is shorter than the previous ones, but I think it stands up pretty well. In case any of you is wondering why I let Joey concede his duel, it's because in the manga is what actually happened: instead of Yugi and Joey dueling, Joey concedes his match even before dueling. For the reason because Richard did... well, you can figure it out yourselves. I sincerely thank the Guest and most of all Cloud4012 for reviewing. Hasta la vista!**


	12. Saving the Kaiba brothers

**The following takes place during **_**Match of the Millennium**_**.**

* * *

><p>I stand along with Tea, Joey, Tristan and Bakura as the door opens and Yugi enters, a determined look on his face.<p>

"The time has come" Tristan says.

"Now that ya went dis far ya have ta win" Joey adds.

"Both for your grandpa and Mokuba" Tea says getting a nod from Yugi.

"And Seto as well" I step in.

"The challenger may step on the ring"

Croquet's words bring us back to reality as Yugi approaches the Duel Arena.

"We're all with you!" Tristan cheers.

"Don't ya dare ta lose!" Joey says.

As Yugi arrives to the Duel Arena, Pegasus comes out and starts walking towards him, followed by two men holding two boxes, probably with Pegasus's Decks.

The Creator of Duel Monsters smirks and orders one of his henchmen to come closer. As the man obeys, Pegasus takes a Deck from the box he was holding and continues approaching. "Yugi-boy, you're a wonderful Duelist!" he says "Congratulations for coming this far!"

"Pegasus!" Yugi answers "Before we start this duel you have to promise me something! If I win, you release the soul of my grandpa!"

"Yes, I promise"

"But that's not all! You'll also release the souls of the Kaiba brothers that you sealed in those cards and you'll have to provide enough money to Richard to go on with his life!"

Yugi... you are a very good friend...

"Strange..." Pegasus comments "I thought Kaiba-boy was your enemy"

"Right now you are my only enemy" Yugi answers smirking.

Pegasus stays silent for a second and then he says: "Now I see! You made a promise to Mokuba-boy!"

What the hell?! Yugi didn't say anything about that! How can he know?

"All right then" Pegasus continues "If you manage to win I'll release their souls and give money to Richard-boy"

"They're starting!" Tristan says.

"But will Yugi be OK?" Bakura asks "Can he really win against a Millennium Item that can read the opponent's mind?"

"Read the opponent's mind?!" I exclaim surprised.

"Ya nimrod! Yugi will win!" Joey steps in "After Pegasus will be beaten, Yugi will become da King o' Games!"

"Yeah, you're right!" Tea adds "Tristan, Richard, what do you think?"

Both me and him make a thoughtful look.

"We're tryin' to fire things up a bit, but ya two are very difficult about it!" Joey protests.

"Think about it!" Tristan says "This battle isn't fair!"

"He's right" I add "Three people close to Yugi are being held as hostages"

"But Pegasus took grandpa's soul only to force Yugi into this duel right?" Tea asks.

"Pegasus is a true Duelist" Joey says "He won't use da hostages"

"I hope you're right..." I answer, still a bit thoughtful.

"Besides, it won't change a thing if ya worry about that!" Joey says placing his hand on my shoulder.

"The duel is starting!" Tea steps in "Let's go upstairs and get a better look!"

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Joey answers following her upstairs.

I, Tristan and Bakura don't follow them. "Joey and Tea are being optimistic, but perhaps you're the ones who're right" the latter admits "Pegasus must not be underestimated: nobody knows what tricks he'll pull out of his sleeve if he's in disadvantage..."

I look at Tristan, who nods at me, and we start running towards left.

"Where are you going, guys?" Bakura asks.

"We're going to save the Kaiba brothers" Tristan explains.

"It will remove a weight from Yugi's shoulders" I add before we start running again.

* * *

><p>"Oh no!" I whisper "It's a maze!"<p>

"Let's do it this way!" Tristan suggests "You go to the left and I go to the right!"

"Good idea. Good luck!"

"Right back at you!"

I then go towards the right corridor. After a few meters I turn left and continue walking. "_Man!_" I think "_It will be hard to find Seto!_"

All of a sudden I hear voices so I hide behind a wall and take a peep: two guards!

"Who's there?!" one of them yells.

Oh no! They saw me!

"What do you think you're doing?!"

I take another peep and I see that standing in front of them is... Bakura!

"Well... I'm..." he says "I was looking for the bathroom"

"Use the one in your room!" one of the guards says "Get outta here!"

I see Bakura going towards me so I grab him place a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet!" I whisper.

"Richard!" he answers "I was looking for you. I think I can help"

"Maybe you can distract them" I suggest "You look harmless so it will be fine"

He nods and goes to the other way of the hall before shouting: "Is anybody here?!"

The guards go towards him and one of them says: "You again?!"

"I forgot where my room is..."

"Is that way!"

While they are busy scolding Bakura I rush behind them and reach a room full of cells. In one of them there's Seto, his souless body to the ground.

I think how can I get him out of here but all of a sudden, I hear something on the back of my head. A gun!

"What do you think you're doing?"

"_Damn!_"

* * *

><p>After a few minutes I'm locked in the same cell as Seto. Fortunately my Deck hasn't been confiscated.<p>

While I pass the time scrolling over my cards, I hear the guard being knocked out and Tristan appears in front of me with some keys, Mokuba and Bakura's bodies on his shoulders. "Little help?"

"Thank you"

In a matter of seconds he gets me out of the cell, I take Mokuba and he takes Bakura and Seto and we start heading towards the room Yugi and Pegasus are dueling.

* * *

><p>"Hey!" Tristan yells to the others.<p>

"Tristan! Richard!" Joey calls.

We leave the bodies on the floor panting heavily. "We were able to rescue the Kaiba brothers" I say.

"What is with Bakura, then?" Tea asks.

"It's just unconscious" Tristan answers.

We then look towards the Duel Arena and see a black orb sorrounding the area.

"It's here too!" Tristan exclaims.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"It's very hard to believe, but..."

He then stops for a second.

"What is it? Tell us!" Joey demands.

Tristan looks at him and says: "A Shadow Game"

I see Tea and Joey looking at each other strangely, but I don't mind. Instead, I look at the field. "I can't see a thing from up here"

"Yeah, let's go down and have a bettah look" Joey suggests.

"We'll leave the bodies here for now" I say as I get a nod from everybody and we start going downstairs.

After a few seconds we are downstairs facing the black orb.

"What da hell is this?" Joey asks.

"Yugi..." Tea whispers.

All of a sudden she places her hands on her chest.

"What's wrong?" Joey asks.

"I don't know how but I feel Yugi's in pain in there" she answers.

"Then it's two of us"

"Or three" Tristan steps in "Not long ago I saw Bakura bring the monsters on his cards to life using what he called "the Power of Darkness""

"I think it's not the first time we've experienced this power" Tea says.

All of a sudden I feel a pain inside my chest and I kneel in pain. "Something bad's happening... right now..." I say.

"Is something happening to Yugi?" Tristan asks.

"No way!" Tea says.

"Are we really not able to pass through that thing?" Joey asks"We really must stand here and do nothing?!"

All of a sudden Tea starts running towards the orb and disappears inside it. After a second she reappears again.

"What's da big deal?" Joey asks.

"I'm up next!" Tristan declares "Move!"

He then disappears in the orb and reappears again.

"It seems we cannot interfere in a Shadow Game..." he states.

"Our friend's in danger and we cannot do a thing to support him?!" Joey says angrily.

Everyone remains silent for a second but then Tea declares: "Joey! Tristan! Richard! Even if we are separated our hearts are always together!"

"Yeah!" Joey says "Powah of Darkness or whatnot, our friendship will prevail!"

They then place their hands on top of the other and look at me. I sigh for a second and then place my hand on top of them.

"Yugi, don't lose!" they all say "We'll always be with you!"

"_This is stupid!_" I think.

We remain silent for a few minutes until the black orb finally fades out and we see Yugi standing up with 100 Life Points remaining. Pegasus's are 0. He won!

Joey, Tea and Tristan rush towards him and starts chatting, while I go towards Pegasus... hold on! He disappeared!

"Hey, guys!" Bakura waves from where he left him.

"Are you back to normal?" Tristan asks.

"What are you talking about? I woke up in the floor"

"You don't remember a thing? That ring controlled you again, Bakura"

"The Millennium Ring?" Yugi steps in "Where is it now?"

"It creeped me out, so I threw it out of the balcony" Tristan answers.

"Thanks to Tristan, I'm OK now!" Bakura says.

"Can you watch the Kaiba brothers for a while?" I ask him "We need to search for Pegasus"

* * *

><p><strong>And here the Duelist Kingdom comes to an end! Of course the arc isn't over, but it will soon. Until then, hasta la vista!<strong>


End file.
